Brothers Through It All
by JackFrostnDean
Summary: AU. The Hamada brothers are living a life of crime, earning their livelihood through deceit and thievery. That is, until someone tries to capture one of them and use them for dark and evil purposes. What do they have planned for the brothers? Every choice they make will have dire consequences. Hurt!HamadaBros. Protective!Tadashi and Technopath!Hiro.
1. Chapter 1: Target Found

**Brothers Through It All**

**Summary:** AU The Hamada brothers are living a content life of crime, earning their livelihood through deceit and thievery. That is, until someone tries to capture one of them. What dark plans do they have planned for the brothers? Every choice they make will have dire consequences. Protective!Tadashi and Technopath!Hiro.

**Warnings:** Slight/Mild swearing and a little bit of violence.

**Rated:** T

**P.O.V:** General

**Beta:** Self-Beta'd… So any mistakes that you may find are my own ^_^; I ask for your forgiveness *bows low*

**Disclaimer:** C'mon… If I owned even one of them, do you guys think I'd be here writing fanfics about 'em? -_- So, no… I don't own any of them. But I dream I do though.

**A.N:** Okay, you guys! I'm new to fanficion so please go easy on me alright? This is a fanfic inspired by a fanart that I saw on Pinterest. It will be multi-chaptered. And it's yet another Alive!Tadashi fic cause, let's be honest, we can never have enough of those and also… I'm in denial.

Also side-note- This is NOT a Hidashi fic. Sorry guys, I don't do incest. Just brotherly love (and lots of it) No Flames please! Flamers will be frozen solid and thrown off a cliff. You've been warned. I do accept constructive criticism. So feel free to PM me and let me know or leave me a review.

So anyways, without further ado - Here you guys go! Enjoy! ^_^ Hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Target Found**

The alleyways of San Fransokyo was pretty quiet that night… save for sound of feet hitting the hard concrete ground as two dark figures raced through them at top speed.

The younger of the two kept up the fast pace set by the older one, which was surprising due to the obvious height disadvantage.

Behind them came yells, shouts and curses from a group of people wearing a bluish green bandana wrapped around either their heads, arms or neck as they chased them. They were a part of a mafia gang for sure.

"Stop them!"

"Don't let them get away again!"

"You're gonna pay, you hear me!?"

The two mystery figures ignored the taunts as they zipped through the various narrow streets trying their best to ditch the angry mob. But they finally skidded to a halt when they took a wrong turn and ended up getting cornered by a thick brick wall. The older one of the two scoffed under his breath, _Just their luck…_

The two slowly turned to the mafia gang who had also come to a stop about ten feet away from them, laughing and snickering at their near victory. The lone street light flickered on and off, letting the gang catch glimpses of the ones they were pursuing.

The taller one wore a Kitsune mask, covering only the top portion of his face. The mask was pitch black but had orange and white mixed in, highlighting its fox like features. His hair was cropped and neat. He wore a black jacket that was zipped up to his collar and black pants with black boots. Despite the situation they were stuck in, the young man had a devilish smirk on his face.

The shorter one wore a mask as well. But unlike his partner's, it was flatter and took the shape of a cat's face. It was a Neko mask coving his eyes and forehead. The mask was white with red and black highlights on it. He wore a black hoodie and shorts, exposing the lower half of his shins and ankles. He also had dark grey snickers on and by the looks of it; he really needed to get new ones. His hair was messy and his black bangs fell on the mask; obscuring the top half. The kid grinned mischievously at the strangers.

The mafia gang, still sneering, approached the two boys threateningly; cracking their knuckles and hinting at the pain they were about to bring.

The younger one tilted his head at the older one and the elder of the two gave him a subtle nod. Even in the dim lighting, one could see the amused smirk that played on his lips.

The taller of the two stepped forward wordlessly and was the one to act first. He was as quick as lightning. Without warning he launched himself at the people who were in front the gang. He kicked out at the guy who was closest to him and placed a well-aimed punch at another. He swiped his leg in an arc on the ground; knocking two more gang members on their butts before kicking at their faces.

He saw a man and woman charge at him from either side with rods in their hands. He flung out his arm and caught the metal pipe and effectively elbowed the man in the face while he swung the same rod at the woman; hitting her hard on the side of her head; knowing her out cold.

Another gang member came; fist aiming to punch but Kitsune mask was already two steps ahead. He grabbed the man by his fist and spun him around. He held the man's shoulder as he twisted the arm, not letting go even after hearing the distinctive crack sound that came from it. The man's anguished scream was cut short as he was slammed against the ground harshly. A heavy boot crushing his spinal cord stopped him from moving entirely.

Kitsune mask looked up at the remaining gang members; still sporting the same devilish smirk.

For a few moments, nobody moved. Nobody made a sound. The gang members looked dumbfounded at their fallen comrades. It all had happened within seconds; like a flash. Kitsune mask finally let go of the fallen man's arm and stepped away from him. He gestured to the rest.

"Leave…"

The venom in his voice told them that he meant business and he wouldn't hesitate to kill them if they attacked. They should have run. They should have listened to their instincts and left while they had the chance. But one glance at their fuming boss told them they had no choice but to stay and fight. And that's exactly what they did. _Loyalty before Life._ All of them charged in at once; hoping to win by number and that's when all hell broke loose.

Yells and screams and flesh hitting flesh could be heard. Kitsune mask kicked, punched, jumped, dodged and fought effortlessly; only receiving a few bruises in return.

The younger one who stood in the side-lines finally decided to join in. No way was he going to miss out on all the fun. He skipped forward and mimicked his partner. He might be small but he used that weakness to his advantage. He aimed at the more vulnerable body parts of his enemies, bringing them all to their knees.

Suddenly, Neko mask came face-to-face with the gang's boss. He was a very bulky man and went by the name of Yama. He was easily three times the size of the kid. He was a lot taller and stronger too. Before the boy could react, Yama slammed his beefy hand into the side of his head, sending him crashing into the wall by his side; stunning him in the process.

Luckily, the kid regained enough of his senses to prevent the mask from falling off completely. He re-positioned it on his face and weakly picked himself up, placing a hand on the wall for support. He looked a little disoriented. Yama laughed loudly and pulled the boy up by his ankle. Neko mask dangled upside-down as he struggled to get loose.

Yama was sure the boy's eyes widened behind his mask as he pulled out a knife from his back pocket. He flicked it open and brought the blade uncomfortably close to the boy's pale face.

"I'd quit struggling if I were you, little boy." Yama spat.

Neko mask did just that. He tilted his head ever so slightly to his right. His partner was still busy beating the crap out of the others. He hadn't noticed his distress yet. He wanted to call out but decided against it. Any distractions could lead to death in this delicate situation. He was on his own now.

He desperately began to look for a way out. He spotted the robot that Yama had with him. The one he was trying to steal for parts. The primary reason they were in this mess in the first place. Yama was still taunting him; shaking him as he did so. He flinched when the knife nicked his cheek. He shut his eyes and concentrated hard. He focused on the bot's basic metal parts, then its components and then it's circuiting. He mapped it all in his mind and began manipulating it.

The temporarily discarded robot sprang to life. It quickly redesigned itself and stood behind Yama. The circular sharp metal blades that were attached to its arms began to spin. Just as Yama was done taunting the boy and was about to swipe his knife to cut deeper, the spinning blades of the robot shot out at the bulky man.

One of the dangerous blades went wide and missed its target completely but the second one was true to its mark. It whizzed past Yama's ear and dug itself into the man's hand; the one that held onto the kid's ankle. Yama yelled out a bunch of cuss words and dropped the kid.

Neko mask, anticipating the sudden drop, landed on the palm of his hands before skilfully rolling away. Without pausing, he shot up to his feet and stopped a few feet from Yama, who still held his hand to his stomach and was cursing every word he could think of.

The younger one spared a glance behind him. Kitsune mask was almost done. He looked back at Yama and then shifted his gaze upwards towards the lone street lamp. Within seconds the light went off and the alley was enveloped in pitch black darkness. The moon was nowhere in sight which only added to the darkness.

That's when the two boys made their escape.

When the light came back on, the two boys were nowhere to be found; nearly all the gang members were lying unconscious on the ground, the few who were still conscious were almost at the point of passing out and were too dazed to do anything and Yama was raging with fury he hadn't known he possessed.

All this was silently being observed by a mysterious dark shape, who was crouching on a nearby building's roof top. He lowered his night-vision binoculars as he saw the two boys disappear out of sight. They seemed to navigate through the dark alleys pretty well; too well in fact. He deduced that they too had some kind of a night vision device installed behind their masks. He pulled out a device from his belt and spoke into it.

"We finally found him, sir."

'_Excellent. Prepare to begin phase one then._' The voice on the other end spoke emotionlessly and the device crackled, indicating that the person on the other end had hung up, successfully ending the conversation.

An evil smile stretched across the stranger's face. "With pleasure," he said to no one; already planning his next move. Last time, the boys had been lucky, but luck only takes you so far. They wouldn't be able escape again. He would personally make sure of that.

* * *

Okay, That's the first chapter. Hope you guys liked it.

Kitsune means Fox  
Neko means Cat

Please R&amp;R and let me know what you guys think. Until next time. Byeeeee!

*fist-bump* Ba-la-la-la-laa!


	2. Chapter 2: Fate or Destiny?

**A.N:** OMGosh! You guys are the best! ^o^ I mean, I'll be honest, I was not expecting that response. I'm so happy right now I could explode. As a way to thank you for your support I'm uploading the second chapter today and its longer than the first. So YEAH! But first...

**Shout-Outs!**

**Hedgi**\- YAY! You're my first reviewer! So you my friend, are getting three cookies (::)(::)(::) ^_^ Oh, and there will be, I promise.

**TheNerd12**- Thank you! Since you're my second reviewer, you get two cookies (::)(::) ^_^ And I'm so glad you liked it. As for what'll happen next, you will have to wait and see *giggles mysteriously*

**Guest**\- Thank you so much. And trust me… I feel your pain. But worry not, my friend! I shall update regularly. And I promise that this fanfic will be finished. And also, here's a cookie (::) ^_^

**Treehugeer**\- Thank you and here's a new update for you! Hope you'll like this one too.

**hirgo**\- Thank you so much!

Once again! Thank you to all those who have followed and favorited (If that's a word XD) I LOVE YOU GUYS!

And now... ONWARD WITH THE STORY!

* * *

**Chapter 2: Fate or Destiny?**

The window of the old abandoned building near the far side of town squeaked open and the two dark figures climbed through it with ease.

The younger one chuckled as he removed his Neko mask and threw it haphazardly on the nearby dusty mattress. "That was fun, huh?"

"Only you would call what happened back there _fun_," the older one shook his head as he too took off his own mask and jacket before setting both items down on the broken couch. It had a damaged leg and had permanently tilted to one side.

"You need to loosen up, big bro."

Tadashi turned to glare at his younger brother. "Hiro, seriously. What were you thinking, you knucklehead?"

"I know, I know." Hiro rolled his eyes before dumping himself tiredly on the mattress; instinctively avoiding the springs that were poking out from it.

He was completely spent. He had nearly passed out earlier so his brother had to carry him almost all the way back. It was embarrassing to say the least. The lingering effects of adrenaline was the only thing that kept him awake at the moment. "But if I'd told you I was gonna steal from _Yama_, you wouldn't have helped me out nor would you have let me go on my own."

"Damn straight!" Tadashi snapped then after a few moments sighed "How many times have I told you that we _need_ to keep a low profile? We're already on the cop's wanted list. And now, thanks to that stupid stunt you just pulled, we'll be chased by Yama's goons until the day we die," Tadashi ranted, throwing his hands in the air.

Hiro sprang up suddenly, making Tadashi jump slightly, his eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting to open his presents. "But it was worth it. Look!" He said as he pulled out Yama's bot from his hoodie pocket and held it up so his older brother could see. "I finally got the pieces that I was missing."

"Unbelievable." Tadashi looked at him in disbelief. Sometimes his brother could be such a bonehead. But it was hard to stay mad at him for long. Looking at the bright happy smile on Hiro's face made it all worthwhile.

They had been through hell and back. Tadashi swore on his parents' graves that he would do whatever it took to protect Hiro as well as his innocence no matter what the cost. He wouldn't let the cruel world take away his brother's light. _Over my dead body _he thought venomously as he watched his baby brother jump up from the mattress and head over to one of the loose floorboards and began loosening them. He smiled and went into the kitchen, _if you could call it that_, to get the first aid kit. He had noticed the little cuts on Hiro's face, _kinda hard not to_. Good thing that none of those cuts looked like they needed stitches. His brother hated those.

Tadashi walked over to one of the lower shelves and pulled out a white and red box, which was surprisingly clean, in contrast with the rest of its surroundings. Despite their poor living conditions, Tadashi made sure they had everything they needed; clothes to wear, medicines, food to eat and a roof over their heads and a place to come back to; _as unkempt as it may be._ What was the point of cleaning or making the place look more homely? They never stayed in one place for too long anyway. _Why bother with it?_

In the other room, Hiro, having forgotten his exhaustion over the excitement, kneed on the floor farthest away from the window and began to pull the floorboards apart. They came away easy, indicating that this had been done many times. It revealed a worn out cardboard box with scratchy writing on it. **'Awesome Inventions!'** it had on it, written in bold with a black sharpie. Although the messy letters had long since faded away with the brown of the cardboard.

Hiro lifted it up and carried it over to the messy table. It had a makeshift leg to replace the broken one; which made it a bit wobbly. After placing it on the table, Hiro opened the lid and began pulling out various devices, machines, wires, screwdrivers etc. But before he could do anything else he felt a tug at his hood and knew what came next.

Tadashi grabbed Hiro's hood and pulled him away from the table. He gestured Hiro to take a seat on the bed as the latter didn't even attempt to hide his annoyance.

"It's just a couple of cuts, Tadashi." Hiro said, rolling his eyes once more but complied anyway as he plopped down on the bed noisily. "They'll heal just fine without your babying."

"Sorry, kiddo. You know the drill," Tadashi smirked. "Besides, whose idea was it again to-"

"Alright! Alright! Just hurry up and get it over with already," Hiro huffed impatiently, eager to get started on the project that he had been planning for months.

"Relax, you big baby," Tadashi said as he took out the antiseptic and Band-Aids and began treating his messy haired sibling, wincing every time Hiro flinched. "You know, you should've called out to me when you were in trouble."

"Yeah, well, I had it handled."

"Sure, that explains all these cuts, doesn't it? Is this supposed to be you _handling_ it?"

"Tadashi-"

"No, Hiro. Look, it's my responsibility to take care of you," Tadashi sighed. He knew his little brother hated this speech but the little knucklehead never learns. "Just… promise me you'll call for help next time, alright?"

"Fine." Hiro yelped when Tadashi touched a particular sore spot on the lower part of his face, near the jaw.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Are you done yet?"

"No." Tadashi deadpanned as he applied more ointment on the bruised skin as gently as possible. "What's your hurry anyway? Got a train to catch or something?"

"I just wanna hurry up and get started on th-"

"Oh no, you don't!" Tadashi cut him off as he stripped away the outer plastic cover of the butterfly Band-Aid before pasting it on Hiro's cheeks and jaw. "You're taking these meds and then heading to bed. Pronto."

"But-"

"No buts. You need rest. End of conversation." Tadashi said sternly as he stood up and packed what was left of their supplies back into the box. He knew Hiro had used his Technopathic powers tonight when they were fighting and it usually takes a lot out of his brother. In fact, Tadashi was surprised that the little guy was still even awake right now.

"Fine…" Hiro's shoulders slumped; his adrenaline and excitement replaced by both defeat and exhaustion. Now that he thought about it, he was feeling a little sore all over. _Okay, fine, more than a little. _And the headache that he had earlier made itself more prominent. He silently thanked his older brother for the Aspirin. Though he'd never admit how truly grateful he was for having a brother like Tadashi. His face didn't even hurt anymore; save for the dull pulsation like feeling. Plus, if he sat to work on his project now, he doubted that he would be able to concentrate enough to actually make any progress. So with that excuse in mind, he smuggled into the mattress as best he could and waited for sleep to come.

He had just barely drifted off to sleep when he heard his brother's voice again.

"We're running short on supplies. I'm gonna make a quick supply run and be right back, okay?"

Hiro gave him a sleepy hum in reply.

"Remember, no matter what, don't open the door for anyone. Don't leave this apartment. Don't go near the windows and keep them closed and locked and-"

"Tadashi! Just go already, I got it," Hiro said in annoyance. His voice sounding muffled as he dug his face into the softer portion of the mattress.

"Alright, I'll be back real soon." Tadashi said again as he grabbed his cap and headed out; sending a silent prayer to the angels to watch over his baby brother until he got back. He could almost imagine his brother saying _'It's just a trip to the store Tadashi. Jeez, stop being so paranoid.' _

Tadashi smiled as he adjusted the cap on his head and straightened his white T-shirt. Without the black jacket or the mask, he looked a lot less menacing. He seemed like your everyday boy-next-door; which was exactly how he intended it to be. The main purpose of the hat was to obscure his face from the pubic as much as possible as well as from any cameras recording the surrounding area.

He quickly made his way to the store and picked up all the necessary items he and Hiro needed and threw it in the shopping cart. He discreetly smuggled a few smaller things; it went by unnoticed, obviously. He was a professional, after all and had done this many times in the past. He stopped for a second to pick up a packet of gummy bears. _The kid always loved 'em_. He paid using the money he had pickpocketed a day ago and politely thanked the cashier who blushed lightly in return.

He turned to leave with the bags in his hands when someone crashed into him and fell to the floor with a yelp; scattering all their things haphazardly in the process.

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and I had these books in my hand and I didn't see you and gosh, I'm really sorry-" the blonde rambled on, not looking up as she began picking up her things in a frenzy.

Tadashi grumbled and sighed internally. He should just apologize and keep walking but he felt like it was his responsibility to help her pick up a few things. So he knelt down and started picking up the items that had fallen near his feet. It annoyed him that this incident had caused some heads to turn their way. The less attention he drew to himself, the better. The girl who was still profusely apologizing wasn't helping any. He waved his hand in dismissal. "It's okay. You can stop apologizing now."

"Sorry," she apologized again and chuckled with embarrassment. "I can be such a klutz sometimes."

Tadashi didn't give her a response. He simply continued to pick stuff up. He picked up a book. But before he gave it back to her, he noticed SFIT printed on the spine with bold letters. Curiosity gripped his heart. He had heard of that famous school and even went by to check it out once when Hiro was busy with his inventions. Of course, he never went in. He had wished that he and Hiro could attend such an amazing institution. He was sure Hiro would get in with ease, despite his age. His little brother was a genius with exceptional talents; not to mention that special little gift of his. But it was nothing more than a broken dream now. And yet, he couldn't stop himself from inquiring. "You go to SFIT?"

"Oh, yes!" She looked at him; her eyes beaming with excitement as she took the book from him and began to stand up. "Are you a student there too?"

Tadashi shook his head as he too stood up. He noticed her face fall a little even though she was still smiling. Anybody else wouldn't have noticed but Tadashi had trained himself on picking up all those little subtle changes while reading people; their facial reactions, their body language, everything. He didn't want to brag but he was sure he had almost mastered the art.

"Oh, that's too bad," the tall girl responded.

Now that they stood at full height with each other, Tadashi noticed she was maybe a few inches taller than him. They'd probably be the same height if she took off her heels. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two until the blonde broke it.

"My name is Honey Lemon! I'm a chemist at SFIT. Nice to meet you," she said as she extended her long skinny arm to him.

He paused for a minute before taking her hand and shaking it, still processing her strange name. "Honey Lemon?"

"It's what my friends call me," she responded as if she'd said that line a million times before.

"Uh, nice to meet you too…"

"Thank you for helping me." Honey bowed.

"No problem," Tadashi said as he began to walk away from her. He had just made it outside the store when he heard her voice again.

"Hope we meet again!"

_'That's a strange thing to say to a stranger,'_ he thought '_She doesn't even know my name.'_

Nonetheless, he gave her a wave without turning around. He sighed. He was never going to see her again anyway. That thought made him feel a painful pang in his chest. She seemed like a very friendly person and maybe, in some alternate universe, where he and his brother weren't criminals, they would've been good friends.

_Friends…_ It was something that Tadashi had always longed for. But he had given it all up for Hiro.

For his little brother, so_ those people_ wouldn't take him away.

For his little brother, so they could stay together.

And the sacrifice was worth it. He didn't need any friends as long as he had his brother. Would his parents be disappointed in him? It wasn't like he chose to live like this. He was forced to and now, there was just no going back.

Tadashi made it back to the rundown apartment he temporarily called home and found Hiro fast asleep. The poor kid was out like a light. A wistful smile spread across Tadashi's face. He picked up his jacket from the couch and went over to the sleeping form and gently laid it on him like a blanket. Hiro was still a tiny little thing. He seemed even smaller now that he was all curled up. He made sure not to disturb the little guy as he tucked him in.

Tadashi made his way over to the couch to lie down. He stared up at the ceiling, his arms crossed behind his head and his legs crossed on the arm of the couch. He willed himself to go to sleep but the thoughts from before kept him awake.

It was almost morning by the time Tadashi's tired mind had given him a break and shut down.

* * *

Yup, that's it for today. I will be updating every Saturday or Sunday. And I promise things will start picking up real fast in the next chapter. The calm before the storm, lol. Anyways, R&amp;R guys and let me know what you think.

**REVIEWS FUEL ME! **

**NOTE:** Every first three reviewer gets cookies. ^_^ Hmm... I loooove me some cookies.

*FOCUS*

Okay, yeah, until next time guys... See ya!

*Fist bumps* Ba-la-la-la-laa!


	3. Chapter 3: Tapering Resolve

**A.N:** OKAY! WOOOOOOOOW! The response I'm getting for this story is just blowing me awayyyyyy! I literally CANNOT thank you guys enough. YOu make me feel so warm and special. And I'm making this chapter extra long for you!

OH and, what do you guys think of the cover picture of this story? I made it myself and that was kinda how I pictured their masks to be when I wrote the first chapter. Let me know what you guys think. ^_^ Like it, hate it, Meh?

**SHOUTS-OUT TIME!**

**ezrafromstarwarsrebelsisdabest: **YAY! Congratulations! You are the first person to review my second chapter so you get three cookies! (::)(::)(::) And you are also the first one to fist bump me back so that deserves an extra cookie (::) YOUR AWEOSME! And thank you!

**Hedgi:** Lol, yup! And you my friend have just won yourself two delicious looking virtual cookies (::)(::) Congrats! XD

**AspenDragonLord:** Thank you so much! You are amazing as well ^_^ So the third and last cookie goes to you (::) Congrats! ^o^

**Guest 1:** OH YAY! Your back! Thank you soooooo much! And I'm super glad you liked my cookie! *secretly hands you another one* Shhhhhhh… Don't tell anybody. And thank you I'll do my best and try not to let you all down.

**Sabeloid:** ITS NEXT WEEK! Trust me though; the wait was just as long for me as it was for you. I couldn't wait to get this chapter out. I'm a day early! WOOHOO! Hope you like it and Thank you!

**akizaki14:** Hopefully I know what I'm doing and will live up to your expectations. I do NOT wanna disappoint. So yeah, I hope you like this chapter. It's extra-long. ^_^

**Guest 2:** First, Thank you! And second, for now, it's just virtual cookies. But believe me when they invent a machine that will let you grab food out of your screens I WILL SEND YOU REAL COOKIES! Promise! AND THEY SHALL BE DECICIOUS!

**hirgo:** No, Thank _You_ for reading it and taking the time to review. You're awesome!

**Allanna Stone:** YAY! I updated! A day early too! ^_^ I'm sorry you had to wait this long. Took me a while to write it and since I self-Beta'd it, it takes time. I didn't want to upload crappy work. You guys deserve the best! Thank you for the review and hope you like this chapter as well.

**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Here's the next chapter. Thank you for the review! If you have any questions feel free to ask. But I won't give away any spoilers XD

**Ravelt Knightwalker**: Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! Thank you for the review! You can look forward to the updates every weekend.

**animals202:** Lol, Hiro and Tadashi are the BEST! I don't even have to try and make them look cute. It's like nature for them. There's a little brotherly fluff down there so I hope you like it. Thank you for the review!

**NightFury999:** Awww! Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it and I hope you will like this chapter too.

And last, THANK YOU TO ALLLLLLL THE WONDERFUL LOVELIES OUT THERE WHO FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED! YOU GUYS, I JUST LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

And now, Onwards with the story...!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Tapering Resolve**

"Tadashi?"

"Uh-hum-wahp-mm…"

"Tadashi! Wake up already!"

"Ugh… Go away, Hiro…Sleep time…" Tadashi grunted as he rolled over to his side and tried burying his face into the hard cushions of the couch.

"No it's not. It's almost afternoon and I'm hungry. You were supposed to get us breakfast two hours ago…" Hiro said; crossing his arms. He even finished the packet of gummy bears that his brother had bought yesterday.

A mischievous smirk began to play on the young boy's face. "Or you know, _I_ could go get it for us instead." And that did the trick, just like he predicted.

"No, no. There's no need… I'm… I'm up…" Tadashi says sleepily as he heaves his body to a sitting position. The last thing he needed was his brother going off on his own. He swiped a hand over his hair and then rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He got up and got ready. He gave Hiro the same old instructions before leaving, to which the latter just rolled his eyes and continued working on his invention.

Tadashi visited the same place he had been visiting for the past few months now. It was probably the second longest constant in his life; _Lucky Cat Café_. Something about the place made him feel comfortable; at ease; _at home._ He casually walked in and went over to the counter and took a seat.

"Oh Tadashi! Good morning!" Beamed a lady who was sporting four trays on her arms. Her exceptional balancing skills threw Tadashi off every single time. _The woman sure was gifted._

"Good morning to you too."

"Be with you in a second, Hun." She said as she went over to serve the awaiting tables; greeting each of her customers with a warm sunny smile.

"Take your time, Aunt Cass." Tadashi said quietly.

When he first came to Lucky Cat Café, he was wary to say the least. He was only drawn to it because of the delicious looking food they had on display. But after he met Cass and saw how kind and warm she was he felt a little less dubious. He was good at reading people and he could tell that she was safe to be around. He used to call her _'Miss Cass'_ at first but the café owner insisted that he call her _'Aunt Cass.'_ instead. She had told him that he reminded her of one of her nephews, who she had lost in a horrible accident many years ago. He felt sad for her and felt obligated to visit her as often as he could, _which was still pretty rare. _

"Hi sweetie, how are you?" Aunt Cass asked as she put away the dirty dishes to come greet him.

"I'm good. Thank you."

"How are your parents and that little brother of yours doing?" She asked; wiping her hands dry on her apron.

"Oh he's doing fine. My parents are on a business trip actually, so I came to pick up some breakfast for us." He lied effortlessly. Lying came easy to him. He had done it all his life. The only time he was truly himself was when he was around his brother.

Cass didn't know who he really was or what he did. He had lied to her about growing up in San Fransokyo; he lied about his school, about his parents, about his _life_. He and his brother would be long gone from the city of San Fransokyo in a couple of weeks. He would be nothing more than a mere ghost to her. _A forgotten memory._ But until then, he would enjoy being in her company and her delicious food.

"Well then, I'll have to pack something extra special, now wont I?"

"Aunt Cass, really, you don't have to do that."

"Hush now. I want to." She shooshed him as she began grabbing various foods and treats. "You know, you should bring your parents and brother over sometime. I'd love to meet them."

"I sure will." Tadashi chuckled. He had never once brought his brother to meet her. It's not that he didn't trust her or anything, he was just being cautious.

_Jeez, no wonder his little kid brother was grabbing at every opportunity to leave the house._ Tadashi never let him go anywhere. It must seem like a prison for Hiro. And yet, there his little brother was, obeying and staying indoors; actually _listening_ to his older brother. _Thank god for little miracles…_ and for the bots that kept his brother busy.

"Hey! It's you again!"

The sudden perky yet familiar voice made Tadashi turn in his seat to find the blonde he had met yesterday, skipping to where he was. She was followed by a small group of people who also seemed to be around her age.

_Aw man…_ Tadashi winced internally "Uh, hey." He said hesitantly.

"It's me! Honey Lemon… from yesterday." She specified unnecessarily. _Of course he remembered her. It was less than a day ago. _

"Yeah, I know." He replied albeit a little insulted. _Did she think he was that stupid? _

Her friends came to stand beside her. Tadashi noticed the big guy first. He was well built with well-defined muscles. He might look intimidating but Tadashi could tell that the guy was a big softy. _He wouldn't have the guts to slit a man's throat if it came down to it…_ but the short Asian girl beside him on the other hand seemed to be quite the opposite.

Tadashi could tell she was the daredevil type and loved living life on the edge. The way she stood, her confidence, that_ look_ of indifference; everything pointed towards it. He could tell she had no problems with crossing limits if necessary.

And lastly, the lanky tall one who gave him the most eccentric smile he had ever seen on anyone's face. He seemed like a really laid-back person, Tadashi noted. Someone who never took things too seriously. Someone without a care in the world.

Tadashi's focus snapped back to Honey as she clapped her hands excitedly.

"Oh! These are my best friends! Wasabi, GoGo and Fred." Honey said pointing at each one of them.

Wasabi gave him a small wave and said hello while GoGo barely acknowledged him with a nod. Fred on the other hand seemed as excited as Honey; taking his hand and giving it an eccentric shake.

"Guys, this is…uh…" Honey paused; realizing that she hadn't even asked him his name yet.

There was an awkward silence right after. Tadashi wasn't sure if he should tell them his name or not. Introductions meant attachments and attachments meant complications. He avoided it as much as possible; Aunt Cass being the only exception. But before he could say anything, the café owner beat him to it; evidently making the decision for him.

"This is Tadashi." Aunt Cass said resting her elbows on the counter as she leaned against it. "You guys know him?"

"Oh well, I accidently bumped into him last night at the grocery store." Honey blushed, brushing back the wayward strands of hair behind her ear as she thought back to the incident. "He helped me pick up all my stuff."

"Yes, Tadashi here is quite the helper." Aunt Cass agreed, winking at the seated teen. He had offered to help her out with the dishes on one of the busiest days she'd ever had. She had been a little short on staff and he was a life saver that day. He had also fixed many devices for her. She instantly developed a soft spot for him and gave him extra treats whenever he visited.

"It was no big deal," Tadashi mumbled, clearly embarrassed and uncomfortable with all the attention being drawn to him. But apparently it wasn't clear enough because Aunt Cass didn't stop there.

"Oh, stop being so modest." Aunt Cass batted a hand at him and then processed to tell them all she knew about him; to which Tadashi slumped against the stool and wished he could disappear into the floor. This was not the way he wanted this day to go. If given a choice, he would rather choose to fight Yama's goons again instead of going through this. _Aw jeez… could this day get any worse? _

"Oh! Oh!" Fred raised his hand high over his head; catching everyone's attention. "I have the greatest idea! Tadashi here should come to SFIT!"

And they all agreed noisily; each expressing their own view of how much Tadashi would love it there. Except for GoGo, who simply stood with a smirk on her face and arms crossed. She looked amused if anything. She was probably the only person who noticed how uncomfortable Tadashi was feeling.

"We could give you the grand tour right now." Wasabi said. He sent a split-second glare at Fred; the person responsible for them being late in the first place. They were supposed to be in class hours ago. _Society has rules, dammit!_

Tadashi blinked at them._ Wait, are they being serious?_ Would they actually take him through the school and show him around. _Was this really happening?_ Tadashi wondered; suddenly forgetting his discomfort. This was what he's always wanted. He might never get this opportunity again!

"Sure. I-" He started but immediately shut up when the thoughts of his brother popped into his head. He had to get the kid breakfast and they were supposed to train today. No way would he ditch his baby brother like that. Besides, Hiro would start worrying if Tadashi didn't get home on time. He might even go out looking for Tadashi thinking he was in trouble. _No!_

Tadashi shivered at the thought of his brother leaving the safety of their apartment. He hung his head and sighed "I-I can't today… I have some stuff to take care of."

"Oh that's okay, how about you meet us at the entrance tomorrow then?" Honey suggested.

Tadashi's head snapped up. That actually sounded like a great idea. That way he could tell his brother he'd be a little late coming home and they wouldn't have to miss out on training either. _It was perfect_.

He decided to be selfish for once in his life and take them up on their offer. He promised himself that after this, he would never again let himself be tempted by anything. "Alright. See you there then."

After exchanging a few more words, Aunt Cass handed him a basket filled with food and treats and they all waved him goodbye. Tadashi felt a strange feeling in his heart; seeing their happy faces; their compassionate nature. He felt something that he hadn't felt in years. He missed this feeling.

But with an almost painful jolt, he snapped back to reality. He took those feelings and buried it all deep inside of him and locked it away again. _Stop it, Tadashi. Don't get attached. Don't make friends. You're just using them to get inside the building and have a look around_. After that, it's over. They'll move on and never turn back.

Tadashi hurries his way back home and finds that Hiro hadn't even moved since he left. He was still working intensely on his bot. Tadashi wondered what Hiro was planning on doing with it after he's done.

He was definitely not going to go bot-fighting, that's for sure. _Not if Tadashi had anything to say about it. _

Hiro looked up and grinned broadly. Tadashi could see the relief in his brother's eyes. "Finally! What took you so long?"

The rhetorical question went unanswered as Hiro took the basket from his older brother and began munching on the food. _He was starving!_

After filling their stomachs and resting for a while Tadashi announced that it was time to practice. They started off with the usual training. The physical stuff like a little bit of Karate, Judo, Kung Fu and Taekwondo. They had picked up the different fighting styles when they travelled to places. While Tadashi was already a skilled fighter, Hiro was still somewhat an amateur.

Later, Tadashi trained Hiro on his Technopathic powers. They were still in the basics, nothing too draining. Hiro grew tired after a few hours. Beats of sweat travelled down the boy's temple but he still kept going until his older brother thought it was enough.

"You're doing great, Hiro." Tadashi said proudly. He smiled at the wide grin his brother was giving him in return. He knew Hiro was doing his best and working very hard to improve. "But I think we're done for today."

The grin slid off his face and turned into a frown. "What? But I can still keep going!" He argued.

"Don't push yourself, Hiro."

"Stop babying me, Tadashi!"

"I will as soon as you've completely mastered your powers."

"How am I supposed to master them if you never let me?!" Hiro childishly stomped his foot; hands balled into fists at his sides.

"It's a slow process Hiro. It's not something that can be accomplished overnight," Tadashi calmly explained. He continued after a short silence. "We're practicing every day, aren't we?"

"That's another thing! Why am I even practicing so hard if you never let me use my powers in the first place? What am I even training for?" The younger brother huffed; crossing his arms over his chest with a pout.

"So you can protect yourself."

"Yeah, but you never let me use them in front of anyone." Hiro repeated.

"Has that ever stopped you?" Tadashi deadpanned; throwing in a little glare to make a point.

"Not… really…" Hiro looked anywhere but his at his brother.

Tadashi sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. He began slowly, "Look Hiro, I'm just saying. I might not always be around t-"

"Don't you dare, Dashi!" Hiro scowled loudly; not allowing his brother to finish that sentence. His expression turned tearful and sad. He suddenly looked very vulnerable. He hung his head low and whispered. "You promised…"

"Yeah, I did." Tadashi said without skipping a beat as he walked over to his baby brother and placed his hands on Hiro's slumped shoulders; turning him towards him. "And I don't plan on breaking it. **Ever**."

Hiro sniffed; willing himself not to cry in front of Tadashi as his older sibling tilted his chin up so he could meet his eyes. "But our enemies will only get stronger. We need to be prepared is all I'm saying."

"Okay."

"Okay." Tadashi stood back up and gave his brother a little space as the latter subtly rubbed away the tears. He hated to see Hiro look so sad and pitiful. He decided to cheer the kid up and joked. "Besides, I thought you liked using your fancy powers."

_It worked._ "I do… so let's keep going." Hiro smiled, seeing Tadashi's will waver, he added the classic puppy dog eyes just for extra measure. "I promise I'll stop if I start feeling tired."

Tadashi never could deny his brother anything; especially not if he used those huge eyes of his. _Damn those adorable big puppy eyes!_ It was his greatest weakness. "Alright… But first, let's refuel ourselves with some creamy cupcakes."

While they ate, Tadashi remembered the conversation he had at the café. He had to go to SFIT without his brother getting suspicious. Hiro was sometimes too clever for his own good. But Tadashi had a plan. He felt guilty but Hiro shouldn't know. Knowing what he could never have will only hurt his brother more so he made up an excuse.

_Ignorance is bliss, after all. _

"Oh Hiro, before I forget, I gotta make a little trip to _San-Fran BlackTech_ tomorrow. We're nearly out of Kunai knifes, Flash Flares and some other stuff. We'll need to restock before doing anything."

It wasn't a total lie. They really did need those things. They had exhausted it all while they were being pursued by Yama's goons. _San Fran BlackTech,_ otherwise known as SFB was a black market that sold anything and everything ranging from information to heavy duty weaponry. It's usually very expensive but Tadashi has _his ways_; he was even feared by a few and they always cut him some really nifty deals. One of them even owed him a favour. So technically, he wasn't lying to Hiro, he was just not telling him the entire truth. Tadashi would have it all done and be back by noon. Hiro wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Cool." Hiro said distractedly as he licked the frosting off of the muffins greedily. "Can I come with?"

"Nice try, bonehead." Tadashi chuckled as he ruffled his brother's messy hear.

"Tadashi!" Hiro whined; batting away his brother's hand. He didn't really want to go to SFB. He had a bot to finish and he was almost done. He needed his brother to leave the house so he could test it out for the first time. He couldn't wait to get started again. _Tomorrow was going to be great!_

* * *

**Somewhere in San Fransokyo many hours later-**

A door opened soundlessly; letting the light from the outside flood into the dark room. It was a very empty looking room with only a desk and a chair placed at the far end. One of the walls closest to the furniture was glass, letting in the dim moonlight to illuminate only half the room. The chair had its back turned towards the door; hiding the person sitting in it from the visitor's view.

"Better be good news." A gruff voice came from the man seated in the chair.

"It is, sir." The assistant replied. His voice breaking slightly out of nervousness. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Our neurological engineering teams have all been gathered and will have everything prepped and ready for the arrival of the boy."

"Good." The man sounded pleased. "And the boy?"

"He is being apprehended as we speak, sir. Everything is going according to plan."

An eerie deep throated laugh bounced off of the walls of the almost dark room before the man sneered-

_"It won't be long now." _

* * *

Alrighty! That's all for this week... Jeez, my updates keep getting longer and longer each freaking time. I apologies for the cliffy. Oh and heads up, the next chapter will either be freakishly short or freakishly long. Anyways please R&amp;R you guys! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH!

**REVIEWS FUELS MY SADISTIC SOUL!** _MUHUHAHAHAHAAAA :-)_ And also if you have any questions, don't be hesitant to PM me.

Bye guys! Have a great week!

*Fist-bump* Ba-la-la-la-laa!


	4. Chapter 4: Vindicated Paranoia

**A.N:** Okay, so this chapter turned out a lot longer than I intended it to be. ^_^;;  
And I'll be honest, It was hard to write.

First off, have I ever told you guys how awesome you are?

Yes? Well, I'm gonna say it again! YOUR AWESOMEEEEE! Thank you so much to those who've shared their opinion about my question. THE DECISION HAS BEEN MADE! (It was almost unanimous actually)

And for those of you who are concerned. DO NOT WORRY! I constructed this story based on the brothers mainly. Which means the plot will be centred around them. The ship/s will barely be there, call it a bonus if nothing else. Don't worry, I'm not good at writing romance anyway (I don't read it either) so there will be very little of that. This is a Hurt!Hamadas and Brotherly fluff story with a boatload of action and adventure mixed in.

Thank you so much guys... And I'm sorry I can't do individual shout-outs this time (for the question thing) cause I have my prep exams starting Monday ;-; (I have a bad feeling about it plus I suck at languages) and I gotta go prepare. BUT! I will thank everybody! And I decided that not giving cookies to everyone is selfish and inconsiderate as hell.  
Hence, I will be handing cookies out to EVERY SINGLE one of you lovely people! YAY! ^o^ You guys ROCK!  
**  
Chapter 3 Shout-Outs!**

**ezrafromstarwarsrebelsisdabest:** Lol, I hope they were delicious. And to thank you, here are three more cookies! YAY! (::)(::)(::)  
**Hedgi:** Oh yeeeeah. You have no idea. XD Or maybe you do, lol. Thank you for the review (::)(::)  
**a random person:** Thank you. Here's the update and a cookie (::)  
**KungfuKittyKat: **It is. I'm sadistic- putting them through all this. But it just can't be helped I guess. (::) *Evil laughs*  
**DuskMuse711:** Here's the update… And if you thought that ending was eerie and mysterious, wait until you read this one. Lol (::)  
**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Tbh, I had a hard time writing this. I didn't want it to be exactly like Hiro's so I hope I did good. (::) Thank you for the review!  
**TheNerd12:** Thank you very much! Here's the update! ^_^ Hope you enjoy (::)  
**Sabeloid:** I'm taking that as a compliment XD Here's a cookie for you (::)  
**RazzlePazzleDooDot:** Lol, yup, Tadashi and Hiro are in for a looong hard bumpy ride. There's a huge surprise waiting for them though so don't go anywhere XD Thank you sooo much for your review! ^o^ (::)  
**Guest1:** Of course you earned it. The fact that you took the time to send me a feedback? You make me feel special. If only I could do more. Here's another cookie and an update so enjoy! (::)  
**animals202:** Lol *fist bump* Hope you'll like the update! ^_^ (::)  
**HeavensLuminousArc:** Yup, it sure is. Tadashi and Hiro are really in trouble now. The bad guys are getting uncomfortably close. Thank you for the review. Enjoy! (::)  
**Guest2:** Your review made my day! So I'm giving you three cookies! (::)(::)(::) And lol, one freakishly long chapter coming right up. Thank you soooooooo much! ^o^ Your awesome as hell! And yes, don't worry, there's gonna a boatload of Whump Hiro and Guilty Tadashi to come. Hang on for the bumpy ride. *evil snickers*  
**CrimsonQueen24:** Are you sure you know? XD lol, here's the update and hope you enjoy! (::)  
**Goddess-of-Genius:** Thank you very much! ^_^ (::)  
**Treehugeer:** Thank you, and as for Hiro. Nothing will ever be the same for him or Tadashi again (for better or worse...) (::)

_A BIIIG THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED/FAVORITED! I LOVE YOU GUYS!_

**Shout-Outs (for the question)-**

**Hedgi**  
**AnimeWolfGirl16**  
**Sabeloid**  
**MarthxZelda**  
**muffinpuffin**  
**ToscaThorCat**  
**Aprotny**  
**hirgo**  
**TheNerd12**  
**write that wrong**  
**DarkFastLight**  
**a random person**  
**Demonicsis**  
**jenn.666**  
**paigepink39**  
**Faybird**  
**KungfuKittyKat**  
**BrokenWings2602**  
**CrimsonQueen24**  
**Girl with opinio**  
**Guest**  
**Justrockzyxxx**  
**HeavensLuminousArc**  
**Goddess-of-Genius**  
**Faithindestiny**  
**Ann b-010**

Once again, Thank you guys for your feedback and help. I appreciate it so much! Now, the moment everyone's waiting for-

ONWARDS WITH THE STORY!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Vindicated Paranoia**

Tadashi impatiently tapped his foot on the ground. He was standing in front of the huge gates of SFIT, waiting for those weird students to arrive. They were fifteen minutes late already.

While he stood, Tadashi's mind wandered back to his brother. He was a little suspicious about leaving Hiro behind. _The kid was up to something._ He could feel it.

The little nerd was hiding something from him… Tadashi was determined to find out what it was. He'd even tickle it out of his brother if he had to. But he'd have to do that _after_ he got back home…

…Or maybe he should just drop this and go back home_ right now. Maybe this whole thing was just one big mistake. Maybe-_

Just when he was beginning to rethink his decision about the whole tour thing, the chirpy voice of the blonde alerted him of their arrival.

"Tadashi!" Honey said, sounding very cheerful. She hadn't thought he would show up today. He seemed so sceptical about them so she was elated to find that he had actually showed up.

"Hey man, you made it!" The lanky teen_\- Fred_, said as he raised his hand to high-five Tadashi. But the latter blinked at the hand and raised an eyebrow at him. This earned the fanboy a few muffled snickers from the others.

"You guys are late," Tadashi said instead. He wasn't trying to be rude. After all, he owed it to them and they were the ones offering to show him around in the first place. But he had an egging feeling at the back of his mind and the sooner he could get this over with, the sooner he could get back home to Hiro.

"Sorry about that. We would've made it here sooner if _somebody_ hadn't decided to hog the whole café… for the fifth time in a row," Wasabi deadpanned. It was obvious who that '_somebody_' was. Fred just had no respect for the rules. _NONE! _

"Alrighty!" Fred's happy nature didn't waver as gave Tadashi a friendly punch on his arm. He felt like the new guy needed to loosen up a bit, _or a lot._ "Can't wait to show you all the cool stuff they do in the labs."

"They?" Tadashi asked, subconsciously rubbing the spot where Fred had punched him. They began walked towards the main building. "Aren't you a science student too?"

"Ah no, but I am a major science enthusiast." Fred said.

"Oh no, here we go again," Wasabi groaned while Honey giggled and GoGo rolled her eyes.

Fred told Tadashi how he was the school's mascot and loved comic books and went on to explain every detail about his hobby to the point where it overwhelmed the poor teen. Tadashi looked lost and spared a glance at the others; signalling for their help but they pretended not to notice his subtle pleas. Barely visible smirks played on their faces as they neared the doors of the building.

"Oh which reminds me, I gotta get going." Fred finally finished; much to Tadashi's relief. "See ya guys later," he waved and happily trotted off to wherever he was supposed to go.

Tadashi stared for a few seconds before asking. "Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much," GoGo said, before blowing a bubble and popping it.

"Oh, this is so exciting! Isn't this exciting?" Honey said. "We have so much to show you!"

They led Tadashi through the doors and into the halls of the building. His mind scoped every inch of the place; a subconscious habit that he had developed over the years. They hadn't even made it half way inside and Tadashi was already impressed. The place was spacious and huge. It was nothing like he'd ever seen.

A couple of students carrying their science projects passed by them and he couldn't help but lean over to take a peek. He paused at the giant holographic paintings that _'hung'_ on the walls. Each one had a different face on it. Honey and Wasabi took turns telling Tadashi who those people were and why they were on there.

Tadashi looked like a five year old kid who had just entered Disneyland. His eyes sparkled with wonder. His mouth hung open in disbelief. He roamed the halls with a wild grin plastered on his face.

Honey, Gogo and Wasabi exchanged knowing smiles whenever Tadashi asked them a question. His eagerness to learn surprised them. It was plain to see that he knew a lot about robotics and engineering. It left them wondering why he wasn't already a student here.

They walked him through the classrooms and lecture halls and to say that Tadashi was awed was an understatement of the century. But every minute he spent here sprung a little bit of an ache in his heart; for both himself and his brother. Hiro deserved to attend this school. He deserved better than what he was forced to put up with. They both did. Life was just unfair sometimes- but Tadashi had learned to enjoy the little things and right now, he would make the best out of his one-time visit to SFIT.

The gang had saved the best for last.

"Prepare to be amazed," Wasabi said waving his hand towards the double door as Honey and GoGo pulled it open from each side.

"Wow…" was all Tadashi could say as he stepped through the doors. He saw a variety of different _cool-as-hell_ experiments. His eyes zipped from one project to another; analysing each one and mentally making note of them; maybe for some future use. He wished he had brought his brother along. Hiro would've _loved_ this.

Tadashi saw GoGo pick up a yellow disk like thing and toss it into a whole pile of the same looking disks. He curiously approached her. She had her back to him and was writing something down on a blue screen. He turned towards her project. It was some sort of a bicycle suspended from the roof. He moved his hand between the wheel and the cassette and his eyes widened "Electromagnetic suspension?"

"Yup. Zero resistance, faster bike," GoGo shrugged as she went over to pick up a discarded disk and a screwdriver. "_But…_ not fast enough." She said; walking away to get more materials and instruments that she might need to make her disks better.

"Huh…" Tadashi said; clearly impressed. He then turned to look at what Honey was working on. She caught his eye and called him over. He saw a big black ball of metal placed securely to the ground. _Tungsten Carbide_, he guessed.

Honey held his arm and tugged at it excitedly. "You're going to _love this_," She said as she added a whole concoction of chemicals together and finally sprayed it on the metal ball before pulling a lever down.

Tadashi saw it turn completely pink as it sucked the pick substance from the air around it like magnet.

"Ta-daa!" Honey yelled proudly. "What do you think? It's pretty great, huh."

"Yeah, it's so… _Pink_." Tadashi felt dumb for stating the obvious instead of something more intelligent but he didn't know much about chemistry to begin with. Chemistry was never his forte. His interests were more towards the physical and mechanical aspect of science.

Honey Lemon didn't mind. She was too excited to notice anyway. "Look, look, this is the best part." She said in a sing-song voice as she skipped over and touched the pink metal ball as gently as possible and it exploded into a large puff of pink smoke all around them. The smoke covered both Honey and Tadashi and cleared away slowly.

"Whoa," Tadashi said grinning as he dusted himself off.

"I know right!" Honey giggled, mimicking Tadashi as she too dusted herself off. She removed her glasses and wiped it clean before placing them back on. She wished she had a camera so she could've taken a snapshot of his priceless expression. "Chemical metal embrittlement!"

"Not bad," he said. He was starting to love everything about this place. He spun around as Wasabi chased after GoGo yelling something about society and rules. He slowly walked over to where he guessed was Wasabi's work area. He saw two long vertically placed bars and could only imagine what they were for.

He stepped over the yellow and black line stickered on the floor to get a closer look but yelped in surprise as a hand suddenly held his shoulder. He spun around and barely held himself back from chopping the person's head off. It was another one of those reflex reactions that he had developed over the years.

He relaxed when he saw that the hand didn't belong to anyone dangerous.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, young man." The man with slightly greyed out hair said as he walked over to Wasabi's experiment and turned a nob, revealing the lasers that shone bright neon green.

"Laser induced plasma?" Tadashi said to himself.

"That's right." The man replied, sounding a little impressed. "You must be Tadashi, Honey and the others told me you'd be stopping by today."

"Uh, yeah." Tadashi's guard went up a few notches. It was never a good thing for people to know his name. Of course, most people to whom he revealed his name to only knew him by Tadashi Takachiho… _but still_. The more people knew he existed, the more complicated things will get. He was starting to regret coming here but this man seemed oddly familiar. Like he'd seen him somewhere before. "And you are…?"

"My name is Robert Callaghan," he replied, offering a handshake to Tadashi as the latter hesitantly took it. "I'm a professor here."

"Whoa wait… You're… Callaghan? Like, as in, the Callaghan Catmull-Spline and Callaghan's 'Laws of Robotics?' _That Callaghan?_" Everything clicked into place. He understood why this man seemed so familiar. Tadashi had read every single one of his books. He had seen the man's face a few times in number of magazines too. He'd often steal robotics books so he and Hiro could learn how things worked; especially Hiro. _This man was a genius!_ And Tadashi actually got to meet him! _This must be the luckiest day of his life!_ Now he really very badly wished Hiro was here to enjoy this.

"That's right." The professor smiled warmly. "So, what brings you to my school, Mr…?"

"Takachiho," The teen answered; readjusting his cap. "I, uh, I just came by to, you know…Um… l-look around."

Tadashi was never usually like this; he wondered why he was struggling to get the words out. Was it because the one person whom he drew inspiration from for years was standing right in front of him?

_Yeah, most likely…_

Robert chuckled at the young man in front of him as the latter rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He noticed a rolled up paperback sticking out of the boy's pocket. "What's that?" He asked.

Tadashi looked down at what Callaghan had gestured at and saw his notebook. It was a thin blue book that had all this ideas in it. Hiro wasn't the only one who could come up with robots. Tadashi had written down and drawn every idea that he came up with in his free time; in hopes that someday, he could make those ideas into a reality. He didn't know why he decided to bring it with him, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Tadashi pulled the book from his pocket and straightened out its rolled up edges. He handed it over to his idol. He didn't see the harm in it. Who knows, maybe the professor could even help him out with a few things. He had come across loads of speedbumps when it came to designing his robots. This could be his chance to learn directly from the great Robert Callaghan himself.

_His only chance. _

Tadashi stood anxiously as the professor flipped through the pages. Each page that the man turned made him feel more nervous than the next. The professor's face was unreadable. Tadashi held his breath. _Didn't Callaghan like his designs? Did he think they were stupid?_ He couldn't tell. For the first time, he couldn't read a person and that made him feel very uncomfortable.

"These designs are…" Callaghan paused, trying to find the best suitable word "Remarkable."

Tadashi let out a sigh of relief as a strange tingly feeling flooded his heart. "Really?"

"Yes, these are quite impressive, Mr Takachiho." The man praised. "I especially thought your designs for the health care robot were most intriguing."

"Baymax is still a work in progress," Tadashi smiled. He couldn't believe Robert Callaghan, one of the world's greatest scientists and inventors, was actually acknowledging him. _HIM!_ He couldn't believe it. He must still be asleep because obviously, this was all just a dream.

"Ever thought about applying here?" Callaghan asked as he handed the notebook back to a dumbstruck Tadashi.

"Oh my gosh! That would be _so amazing!_" Honey popped out from behind Tadashi; almost startling him. She and the others had been spying on him and Professor Callaghan for the past few minutes now and were pleasantly surprised when their professor complimented him on his ideas. It was rare to see Professor Callaghan this amused and pleased.

Honey was elated when the professor asked Tadashi if he wanted to join here. This school would be perfect for Tadashi. He'd fit right in. He seemed like a nice person and he knew a lot about robotics. She couldn't see why he didn't deserve a chance, and she knew her friends felt the same way too. "Right guys?"

GoGo and Wasabi, who stood beside Honey, nodded in agreement.

"What do you say?" Wasabi asked with a smile.

Tadashi was overwhelmed. No, he was more than that. He was spellbound. He couldn't get a single coherent sentence out. More than a million thoughts flashed through his mind in a split second, and still he couldn't comprehend what was happening. It was as if he had lost his ability to think or speak but he wanted to say and ask so many things. All sorts of scenarios, good and bad, raced into his mind. He calmed himself down enough to give them an answer.

But any and all previous thoughts and excitement he felt came to an abrupt and screeching halt when he heard a beeping noise coming from his jeans pocket.

"Oh no," Tadashi's first instinct was to panic. He pulled out the small square device and eyed it; ignoring the strange looks the others were giving him.

The device was small and boxy. Its front panel was overlapped by a glass screen. It displayed a grid like map with a red dot blinking on it. _The red dot being Hiro.._.

That's right. It was a makeshift tracking device.

Tadashi had disguised a tracking chip under his brother's Neko mask and he had sewed another one inside the underlining cloth of Hiro's hood_; just to be safe._ He programmed the device in such a way that it beeped and blinked every time Hiro stepped out of a hundred meter radius from their home. He'd turn it on whenever he left Hiro alone at the apartment.

Gazing at the red blinking dot shot Tadashi's anxiety levels through the roof. _Calm down, Tadashi, Hiro must've just gotten bored and stepped out for some fresh air. _

_Yeah, yeah, that's it. You're panicking for no reason. _

_Hiro's safe…_

_He is._

But his brotherly instinct told him otherwise. Hiro was in trouble, he could feel it. _Dammit!_ He knew that this was a bad idea. He had ignored his gut feeling all because of his stupid selfish desires. If anything happened to his baby brother, Tadashi would _never _forgive himself.

He didn't waste any more time. He spun around and raced out the doors and out of the building with surprising speed and agility; leaving behind four very confused and concerned people.

"Well, that was… strange." Wasabi said, blinking at the double doors that were swinging shut.

"He looked worried. Maybe we should follow him to make sure everything is okay," Honey suggested.

"Fine, then lets follow him." GoGo didn't wait for the other as she too raced after the panicked teen. Speed wasn't an issue. She was confident she could keep up with him.

GoGo had been observing him discreetly from the moment they met and something was just off about him.

Not that it was any of her business but she was determined to find out what it was and why she felt that way. And so the three teens excused themselves from class and chased after Tadashi.

**_A few minutes ago-_**

This was starting out to be a great day.

Tadashi had left a few hours ago and strangely early too. Of course, Hiro had to do a lot of shoving to get him to actually leave. He had briefly wondered why Tadashi wanted to go to SFB so bad. His brother wasn't exactly a morning person; especially not since all those late night escapades they often did. He chuckled at their morning conversation.

_"Okay, Hiro," Tadashi said, grabbing his cap from the couch. "I'm leaving now. Remember, keep the windows closed and doors locked. Don't open it for anyone and don't leave t-"_

_"-the apartment. I know. Tadashi just **go** already." Hiro interrupted as he shoved his brother subtly towards the exit. _

_"Oh and if you get hungry, there's some food and muffins left on the counter." _

_"Uh-huh. Got it." _

_"I'll be back as soon as I can."_

_"Take your time, Tadashi." _

_"Please try not to set the house on fire this time, Hiro." _

_"Not making any promises there, bro." _

_"Hiro…"_

_"I know, I know. Low profile. Now will you just go already? I'll be fine." _

And with that Tadashi had left; but not before making sure all the doors and windows was secure.

Hiro wasn't complaining because now, he had the house all to himself. Well, he had been left home alone plenty of times before but this time was different.

Today was the day that his invention would finally be complete. After months of slogging and fighting and sneaking to collect the right parts for his robot, today was the day he would finally be able to taste the fruit it bore.

He'd been working all morning and now it was almost done. Just a few tweaks more. Hiro delicately screwed in some metallic bolts. He was concentrating so hard; tongue sticking out from the corner of his mouth that he almost didn't hear the knocking sounds coming from the front door.

He paused and looked at the door for a few seconds. _Nothing…_

Hiro shrugged. _Must've been his imagination or something_. He was just about to continue working when he heard the noise again. This time, Hiro was sure it wasn't his imagination. Someone really was outside their door.

Panic and fear gripped his heart. He was sure it wasn't his brother. Tadashi would never knock. He had a key. Even if he had lost it, Tadashi would call out to him first before knocking. Or he would just climb in through one of the windows.

_Was it Yama's goons? Was it one of the other gang's?_ How had they found him? He was sure they were being careful about covering their tracks.

Everything was silent for a moment. Hiro stood still; his wide eyes scanned the door; as if waiting for some horrid monster to barge in and eat him alive. He could only hear the sounds of his own heart beating out of his chest.

And then, his heart stopped altogether when he heard a sultry female voice on the other said of the door say…

_"I know you're in there, little boy… Why don't you come out and play?" _

* * *

_So that's it for this update ^_^ Hope you guys enjoyed it... The cliffy cause Yes, I'm that evil MUHUHAAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_

R&amp;R guys and let me know what you thought about it. Until next time... See ya!

*Fist Bump* Ba-la-la-la-laa!


	5. Chapter 5: Finders Keepers?

**A.N:** SORRY! I'm very sorry I didn't update last week. Exams are really making my life hard. And I tried to write in between study sessions but I was either too exhausted or my brain just failed to construct proper English sentences. I'm a failure… I'm so sorry! But here's a super long chapter. Hopefully it'll make up for my tardiness and you'll forgive me.

**ALSO! DID YOU GUYS HEAR THE SUPER AMAZING AWESOME NEWS!? THERE'S GONNA BE A BIG HERO 6 SEQUEL! I MEAN, WHAT, WHO, WHERE, HOW, WHHAAAAAT! AND TADASHI! TADASHI IS GOING TO BE IN IT! GUYS! OUR PRAYERS WERE HEARD! OMG! THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME! PAAAAARTTYYYYYYY! I literally couldn't sleep when I heard the awesome news! I mean... my brain is still processing this information for the past week now and I'm still unable to comprehend it. **  
**  
Shout-Outs!**

**ezrafromstarwarsrebelsisdabest**: Lol, You are a cookie person, aren't you? When they do finally invent a device that can transport food through screens, I'll have to send you **boxes** of cookies. XD But for now, here's three more (: :) (: :) (: :)  
**Amazing Cat**: Cliffhangers kill me too! I HATE THEM AND LOVE THEM AT THE SAME TIME! UGH! Sorry I'm putting you through this… I feel terrible (Doesn't mean I'll stop though *laughs evilly*) Here are some cookies to make things better *winkwink* (: :) (: :)  
**Dolphingirls**: Nope, it's not. Hope Tadashi makes it in time *Fingers crossed* (: :)  
**Guest:** Thank you so much. ^_^ It was hard though. I didn't want it to be an exact switch between Tadashi and Hiro… I wanted Tadashi's first time seeing the lab his own- but at the same time I wanted people to be able to relate to it. So yeah… Glad it didn't turn out to be a disaster. *nervous chuckles* (: :)  
**Treehugeer:** YES! Then I have succeeded in my evil plans *laughs maniacally* *cough* Here's a cookie! ^_^ (: :)  
**somebirdcookies:** Don't worry… Hiro knows better… But that won't stop whoever's outside the door… And as for Tadashi, will he make it in time? Let's find out… (: :)  
**GuitarGeek:** You my friend, made my day! No, you made my week! THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH for the cookies! This is the first time I've gotten any back. It made me feel very special. Thank you! (Also) My exams went better than I expected (Which was surprising) Thanks to your lucky cookie I suspect. YOUR WONDERFUL! I'm super happy you gave my story a go. I feel very humbled n' honored. You deserve some extra cookies! (: :) (: :) (: :) (: :) (: :)  
**justockzyxxx:** Lol, yes, I'm an evil and sadistic creature, aren't I…? I apologies… Sometimes I can't resist. (: :) I'll go sit in a corner now…  
**CookieGuest:** Are you kidding? I think it's pretty darn awesome! Not cheesy at all! And as promised- An update ^_^ And a cookie for my loyal cookie loving guest! Enjoy… (: :)  
**CrimsonQueen24:** Uhhh… Yes. I deleted the author's note and replaced it with the actual chapter ^_^;; Eesh… So sorry for the inconvenience. Lol, if I say anything about anything right now it'll be a spoiler so I'm just gonna let you read and find out (::) Enjoy and Thank you! ^_^  
**hedgi at work:** Lol, well, my friend... Maybe your sadistic side will get its wish. Lets see? Hope you like this chapter! (: :)  
**a random person:** Lol, (: :) Thank you! Sorry for the late update. It was awful. But here's the next chapter! Hope you like it.  
**animals20:** Which is why Hiro acts the way he does even though he's a pretty brave kid. (: :)  
**Izi Wilson:** Thank you very much! ^_^ Hope you love this too? (: :)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** All of those questions shall be answered shorty. And Thank you! (: :)  
**The Amazing Cat:** Wait... Is this the same person as the _Amazing Cat_ whom I've addressed to at the top? Lol, if so, thank you very much for the second review. You get a total of three cookies now (::) And here's the update *winks*  
**IamInk:** Ugh, I hate myself for being such a cliffhanger junkie. I guess I'm trying to get revenge for all those times I've been left with a cliffhanger.:-P Lol, Sorry about that. Here's a cookie (::) Thank you!

_Once again! Thank you to ALL those who have Followed and Favorited my fanfic! *HUGS YOU* _

**Also THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO MY AWESOME FRIEND**\- GuitarGeek. Love ya, dude!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Finders Keepers?**

"_I know you're in there, little boy… Why don't you come out and play?"_

Hiro's heart jumped to his throat. His body froze while his mind raced. He racked his brain trying to place a face on the owner of the voice. _Nothing._ Had he heard it before? _Dammit!_ After years of training, he shouldn't be this scared. He freaking fights people three times his size almost every other night for pete's sake… _But_ then again, things were different this time…

This time, they had found his _home._

This time, Tadashi wasn't with him.

This time, he was well and truly all on his own.

Hiro jerked back harshly when the door suddenly slammed open; almost breaking it out of its hinges. He could see the silhouette of a woman standing stiffly by the door. She was thin but curvy and reasonably tall. He couldn't make out her face as it was covered by the shadows. He could only see the white of her pearly teeth as she grinned at him.

"_Hiro Hamada…_" she cooed. "It's a _pleasure_ to finally meet you."

The sultry malice in her voice snapped him back to reality and abled him to regain control over his paralyzed body. This woman was _bad news_. She knew his real name! But how? He and Tadashi always went by their aliases. _Argh, no time to ponder over it now though. _

He mentally cursed himself for not acting sooner. He leaped into action as he dove towards the bed to get his mask just as she flung two round black balls into the room. Although curious, Hiro didn't halt to see what they were.

He grabbed his mask and put it on. He felt that having the mask on was important. It helped him gain more confidence and he felt less exposed.

The round black objects rolled harmlessly on the floor until suddenly it burst and began producing a purplish grey smoke. The objects hissed as the smoke spread across the room. Hiro caught a whiff of it and immediately backed away when he felt slightly dizzy.

_Damn! This wasn't good_. He couldn't see well enough with all this smoke to fight her and if he breathed any of the purple substance in, he'd be an unconscious drooling mess on the floor in no time. Hiro held his breath as he quickly made his way towards his invention. He grabbed it and its supporting components and rushed into the kitchen.

He swiped a hand over the counter; dumping all the food and muffins on the floor and climbed onto the granite surface. He reached above him to the shelves and grabbed the hidden kunai knifes. Unfortunately for him, there were only two left. _Ugh! Why did Tadashi have to wait this long to restock?_ He stuck one in each sneaker. There was no time to search for the flash grenades so Hiro concentrated on moving the heavy granite slab instead.

Anywhere Hiro and Tadashi moved to, they always made sure to build a _'back door'_ of sorts. A secret one for emergencies such as this. They always planned for alternative exits... Of course, Hiro never once imagined he'd ever have to use one of them and often made fun of Tadashi for being so paranoid and over cautious about everything. _Aw crap, when he made it out of this, he was surely getting an 'I told you so' speech from his brother. _

_If… If he made it out…_

_'__Stop it Hiro. You'll be fine, knucklehead. Now use that big brain of yours and focus on escaping' _said a voice in his head. It was Tadashi. Hiro would've chuckled if he had the time for it. Even when his brother wasn't with him; he was still right there; supporting Hiro.

The secret escape hatch in their apartment was built under the granite slab of the kitchen counter. Once the top was removed, a long and steep narrow passageway that resembled a chimney shoot would lead Hiro outside; to the back of the building.

"There's no point in running, you know? We've spent far too much time tracking you… and now that we've finally found you. We won't ever let you go," the voice sneered from the other room. It sounded a little muffled to Hiro. The woman must be wearing a mask of her own; specifically to protect herself from the smoke he guessed; the smoke that was beginning to flood into the kitchen now. He briefly wondered who she meant by _'we.'_ How many of them are after him? And why were they looking for him? Was it because of his Technopathic powers? _Yeah… most likely…_ Well, they picked a helluva time to break in. Hiro couldn't help but think that this was all planned out. They had waited for Tadashi to leave and waited till they were sure he wouldn't be retuning soon to make their move. Whoever '_they_' were…

Hiro finally managed to move the slab out of the way. He wasted no time in jumping in; holding his robot close to his chest. He zoomed through the narrow tunnel; sliding downwards at a very fast pace. His mind meanwhile mentally mapped out the quickest route to SFB where he would find Tadashi. He had to get out of this place and as far away from the crazy lady as possible first.

Hiro could see the small glow of light below getting bigger and bigger. He was approaching the exit fast. And in an instant, Hiro was out the shoot and free falling into a whole pile of discarded junk. He landed into them with an '_Oof_' sound.

_Ow! That hurt!_ Hiro groaned as he pulled himself free from the useless junk that smothered him. _Jeez…_ He and Tadashi really needed to put more thought into their landings next time.

Hiro catches movement and a glint from the corner of his eye and reacts just in time to dive out of the way with his robot as a large triangular net comes flying towards him. It entraps the junk where he was just moments ago. Hiro grunts and rolls on the ground until he comes to a stop on his knees and hands; _not one of his most graceful moves but effective nonetheless. _He turns around quickly to see who his attacker was _this time_. It couldn't possibly be the woman from upstairs. And he was right. It wasn't.

A bulky man wearing a dark indigo cloak stood confidently at the end of the passageway; successfully blocking Hiro's escape route. The man's face wasn't hidden so Hiro could make out the guy's facial features well. He had a very blocky face and many scars decorated it. One of them even went over his left eye; undoubtedly blinding him.

The one-eyed scar-faced man gave Hiro a wicked smile before lifting the net launcher up with his beefy hand and aimed it directly at the young boy.

Hiro had no intention of dodging the attack this time. He knew what was coming. So instead, he dumped his robot onto the ground and wore the glove that he had carried along with him. It was the key component for activating his robot and making it work after all. The young boy gave Scar-Face, _as dubbed by Hiro_, a mischievous smirk.

_Time to show off his latest invention. _

Hiro flicked his wrist and flexed his fingers. The glove as well as the robot activates with a whoosh sound and barely audible beep. The robot near his feet begins to assemble and take its true form.

The robot comes together and forms a Chinese dragon. Its face was sharp and it had three dangerous pointy horns on its head. Its eyes glowed bright red as steam escaped its nostrils. Its scales were made of individual blades; each one as sharp as the next. Its long tail swiped left to right and right to left; as a wild animal would do when it corners its prey and is about to go for the kill. Its claws were just as sharp as its tail; making the robot as deadly as it gets. Its shiny metallic surface glinted at the sunlight.

It was controlled by the glove that Hiro wore on his right hand. Tiny microchips were placed at the ends of each fingertip; making it easier for him to control and manipulate it. A scanner was built into the glove near the underside of his wrist; this function was used to monitor Hiro's heartbeat and pulse. The dragon was designed to make certain decisions on its own if Hiro was in danger or unable to defend himself.

His robot also had a special emergency feature if worse comes to worst but Hiro hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Very impressive… But that won't be enough to save you," Scar-Face grins madly at Hiro as he fires his weapon. Another net launches at the young boy.

Hiro makes a fist with his glove hand and opens it up as he swings his hand forward. The dragon suddenly roars and lets out a blast of fire from its open mouth. The fire, _which was barely controllable_, burnt the net before it even came remotely close to them. Hiro made a mental note to use a little less fire power next time. _Wouldn't want to burn the whole area down, now would we? _

Hiro was happy with his robot. Its first time on the battle field and things don't look bad at all. There was no way he was losing this fight. Tadashi was going to be so proud of him… _and pissed_. His brother was also going to be super pissed. Speaking of which, Hiro had to finish this fast so he could get going. He stood and smirked at his opponent and gave him a '_Come get me'_ gesture.

Scar-Face's expression changed into a more menacing one. His mad grin grew larger as he cast the capturing device aside "I was hoping we could do this the hard way."

The man removes his cloak and lets it fall heavily to the ground; exposing his well-built slightly muscular body. He wore leather all over. Iron plates stuck to his shoulders, elbows and knees. Some sort of tech remained wrapped around the man's forearm and it continued down till the edge of his palms. He seemed to be showing it off to Hiro.

Scar-Face takes a fighting stance and punches the air as if he was punching an imaginary heavy weight champ.

Hiro readied his robot but didn't see anything firing from the man's gauntlet. _Maybe the dude was plain crazy?_ Hiro shrugged. But just as he was about to command his dragon robot to attack, he felt the air being forced out of his lungs as he flies backwards.

Hiro falls a few feet away and tumbles a bit further. His robot lands right beside him. He shakily gets to his feet; his breathing turns heavy as he forces his lungs to cooperate and breathe in air. Also, his ears wouldn't stop ringing. _What the hell? _He didn't see anything… What the heck hit him enough to cause him this much damage?

Then, like a flash, the answer came to him; _Ultrasonic Sound Waves._

That was the only explanation. Hiro had never before seen a weapon like this; not even in the underground black market. He had heard rumours about it being manufactured though. _Guess they do exist… huh, go figure_. They say this weapon was illegal because it had the potential to cause its victims some serious permanent damage; specifically to the brain, heart and sensory organs. If those rumours were true then… _Aw man, things just got far too serious._ It was starting to worry him. Hiro was going to have to change tactics here. He couldn't take any more hits from that thing.

Hiro glares at him from behind his Neko mask and flexes his arm out sideways; summoning his robot. The dragon picks itself up and roars as it zooms towards the bad guy at breakneck speed. It breathes fire at him once it reaches over its opponent's head.

Scar-Face easily dodges it and deflects the flames away from him using his gauntlets. Unexpectedly, the dragon lands near his feet swiftly; vulnerable for only a second as it whips its deadly sharp tail at him; aiming to cut off his leg. It hits its mark but not quite enough to sever the limb. The blade does create a deep cut at the back of his knee though and the man goes down but he wasn't out for the count. _The guy was persistent and impressive;_ anybody else would've lost their leg as well as their will to fight by now. Scar-Face curses a series of unpleasant words as his face turns red with fury.

The dragon is unfazed and doesn't pause. It picks itself up once more and flies towards him with its razor sharp claws ready to tear his face to shreds. _What's a few more scars on his already scared face, right?_

The metallic reptile doesn't make it though as the man punches the air thrice and then twice more and smiles victoriously as the robot is thrown backwards into a nearby wall with great force. The thing was surely broken now. But his smile fades away when he realizes; a bit too late, that the dragon was just a distraction. He turns his head towards Hiro just in time to get kicked in the face; HARD!

Hiro lands a powerful kick to his right cheek; painfully snapping his head to the side; blood and spit splattered the ground near his feet. The kid doesn't give him time to recover though as he jumps onto one of the iron plates on his shoulder and then onto his back. Hiro quickly grabs one of the kunai knives from his sneaker and thrusts it straight towards the man's exposed neck.

But what should've been a killing blow was stopped when the man held up his hands to protect his neck; anticipating Hiro's attack. The kunai enters the man's right palm; piercing right through it.

Scar-Face wails in blind rage and pain. He reaches behind him with his other hand and harshly grabs Hiro by the hood and flings him to the ground. Hiro's back smashes into the hard ground with a bone crushing impact and he felt the air forcefully leave his abused lungs for the second time that day. The fabric tore away from his hoodie; _Damn, he liked this hoodie. It was his only one. _

Dazed and disoriented; Hiro rolls onto his hand and knees and tries to crawl away. He saw blackspot clouding his vision… _Well, that was never a good sigh._

_No! Stay awake, Hiro. You can't pass out now. I'm not giving up on you. C'mon, get up! You can do it! Get up and fight!_ Tadashi's voice encouraged.

_Oh, that's right;_ Tadashi… He had to get to Tadashi. His brother would know what to do. He would keep him safe. He would protect him. And so with every ounce of will power he had left, Hiro slowly began to stand but he grunts painfully as a boot comes crashing down on his back; pressing him to the ground and preventing him from escape. Hiro turns his head to the side and looks back at the man who was now towering over him.

Scar-Face was now scowling angrily. He lifted his hands up and made sure to let the kid watch him pull out the knife from his palm slowly. He grunts and tosses the bloodied kunai to the side. He also removes the damaged gauntlet. The kunai had caused too much harm to the base of the device; it might backfire if he used it now. _Shit! That thing had cost him nearly a fortune_. He dug his uninjured leg painfully into the poor kid's spinal cord; out of spite alone. _Stupid brat thinks he's so smart, eh?_

Hiro squeezed his eyes shut behind his Neko mask. _Oh god!_ Everything hurt now. _This man was going to kill him! If he didn't do something quickly he was going to die!_ Hiro's survival instinct took over as his eyes roamed and re-focused on his discarded robot lying uselessly near a dumpster.

_This is it_. The function that he had planned for the robot in case of emergencies… he was going to have to use it now. Hiro knew he was going to regret this decision. It was an emergency function for a reason. And he hadn't even tested it out yet. This feature required him to use his Technopathic powers and he was already completely drained. But no way was he giving up. He wouldn't let his brother down. Tadashi taught him better than that. He focused all his remaining energy on the circuits and wiring and internal components of his robot dragon. The different parts of his robot start to vibrate and like magnet attacking iron, it starts to fly towards its creator.

Scar-Face, having seen the dangerous blades flying towards him, jumps a few feet away from the kid immediately.

Hiro barely manages to get up. He staggers a bit but catches himself; albeit a little ungracefully. He straightens out his back and turns around slowly. The dragon's variety of components fixes itself on its owner. The robot's head attaches itself on his Neko mask; making it look extremely lethal; silver glinting under the harsh beating rays of the sun. The salvageable scales curved around the boy's thin frame. Hiro removed his glove and let it fall lazily near his feet. There was no use for the object now anyway. The remaining parts of the dragon's mechanisms attached itself to his arms and legs.

Due to the robot's pre-designed functions; Hiro didn't have to push himself too hard to control it with his powers. He now had the upper hand… _Or so he thought._

Hiro assumed he could hold his own against this man _but boy_, was he dead wrong. Scar-Face lunged forward with surprising speed. It seemed unnatural for a man that size to move so fast; especially with a leg injury. In a blink of an eye; the man was in front of Hiro, swinging his arm with the sonic gauntlet in a wide arc towards him.

Hiro didn't even have time to move away or dodge the fierce attack. All he could do was sluggishly put his arms up in a desperate attempt to protect his head. The block was successful but it didn't help him much. The close proximity of the sound waves sent Hiro tumbling and crashing into the dumpster; creating a huge dent in it.

Hiro felt the hit before his mind could even begin processing it. He felt as though his bones were broken; he probably had some cracked ribs now. At this rate, he wasn't going to survive to see the next hour. Hiro gingerly picked himself up and stumbled clumsily before latching onto the edge of the dumpster for support. He had to blink a few times to clear his blurry vision. Some of the scales of his dragon robot had fallen off but the key components miraculously stayed on.

Scar-Face sneered and began walking towards the Technopath. And that was the moment Hiro knew that he could never win this fight. He was exhausted, every inch of his body hurt so bad, he felt like his head was about to explode; he was pretty sure he had a massive concussion, his vision was too blurry to see anything and his mind was losing the battle of consciousness. And worst of all… _Tadashi wasn't here_. He really needed his over-protective big brother right now.

Other than the thought of his brother, Hiro only had one other coherent thought racing through his muddled mind;** RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!**

The command was fixed in an infinite loop in his brain. But there was no way he would be able to out run this guy on foot. Any other circumstance then maybe but not now. Now, he was just too weak and was at a clear disadvantage.

This was his last resort and he wasn't sure if it would work. He shut his eyes tight and concentrated on the fire breathing mechanism of his robot. It was fixed itself at his feet. The fire would act as rocket boosters and would propel him to the sky. _If this failed… then that was it_. Hiro had nothing more to offer. For the ample time today, he wished Tadashi was here by his side.

Hiro blinked away the tears that were accumulating in his eyes as he took his flight stance. He was glad he still had the mask on. He didn't want to give this jerk the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

Speaking of the jerk, Scar-Face had stopped walking and now stood smirking at the boy as if to imply that all his efforts were futile.

The Technopath wasn't deterred though. With a burst of flames Hiro went soaring through the alley and into the sky.

He had just cleared the rooftop of the building when something caught his ankle and tugged so harshly that it sent him plummeting down into the neighbouring building's roof. Hiro crash landed so hard that the dragon components that were protecting his body, broke away from him in pieces. Even the dragon mask along with his original Neko mask went flying through the air.

Hiro tiredly propped himself up on his elbows and lifted his head up to see a woman standing on the other side of the rooftop. Now that his Neko mask had fallen away, one could see how dilated his eyes were. The brown of his eyes were barely visible. His hair was messier than usual too and stuck to his clammy forehead.

The woman stood confidently with a grappling hook launcher resting on her shoulder. The tool end of the contraption was still enclosed firmly around his ankle. Hiro's exhausted mind concluded that she was the woman from before. _Oh right…_ He had completely forgotten about her. Hiro let his forehead rest on the ground; trying his best to level his breathing out. But it was becoming too much of a hassle. He tries to get back up one last time but his body fails him. The last thing he sees before the darkness finally claims him is the woman strutting towards him with an almost sympathetic smile on her face.

"Wow, he must've given you a run for your money. I mean, look at you. You look even uglier than usual." the woman tossed behind her as she crouched down next to an unconscious Hiro and checked for a pulse. It was a little erratic but strong. It was expected after what the kid just went through. She wiped away a lone tear that the young boy had shed before passing out. She felt sorry for the kid. _She really did_. But it was her job. She didn't think he would last as long as he did. The boy was talented and strong, she knew that for a fact.

"Gee, thanks." Scar-Face deadpanned as he came to stand behind her as she picked up Hiro in a bridal carry. "But you might wanna work on those people skills of yours. It may be going rusty after that little trip you took a while ago." he smirked.

"We agreed to never speak of that again," She scowled but then matched his smug smile with her own "And besides, you may need to work on getting stronger if a fourteen year old kid can kick your ass like that."

"The kid's got skills, I'll give him that." the man nodded towards the boy in her arms. "And the determination to live too. I can see why you would want him on your side…"

"Don't assume things you know nothing about, Mr. Hornet. We want Hiro for an entirely different purpose."

The woman and the man both began walking towards the chopper that awaited them. It was levitating just above the roof; making it easy for them to climb onto. Both of them, plus an unconscious Hiro, hopped on board but turned their heads when a loud voice boomed above the noise of the helicopter blades.

"HIROOOO!"

* * *

There you go, some Bad-ass/hurt!Hiro.

Phew... That was exhausting. Let me know what you think of this chapter. Good? Bad? Horrible? I'm sorry... I've never written any action sequences before. This was my first time and I don't know if I pulled it off or not.

Feedback is appreciated guys! It inspires me to write more so please do leave me your thoughts and comments. ^_^

Until next time... *Fist Bump*  
Ba-la-la-la-laa  
Byeeeee!


	6. Chapter 6: Palpable Guilt

**A.N:**HI GUYS! GUESS WHO'S BACK? Hehe. My exams are finally all done _*initiate crazy dance*_ SMEAGOL IS FREEE! And now I can give my poor brain the rest it deserves XD It nearly crashed a couple of times there. What has it been? Two weeks now? ^_^; I'm sorry!

But HOLY MOTHER OF FANFICTION! 102 REVIEWS!? WHAT THE SHMUR? I can't believe this! When did this happen? ;-; I'm tearing up at how amazing you guys are. I'm very very very thankful for all of you and your wonderful support. Thank you guys for sticking with me. I LOVE YOU!

**(|*|*|*|) CAKE FOR EVERYBODY! **

This chapter is dedicated to my good friend **tykimikkitty!** (Also, this is a secret plot to get her to update her fanfic cause I'm dying here without knowing what happens next. So shhhh...) Check out her Fanfic guys! It's called **Fox-face and Flames**! ITS AWESOME!

**Shout-Outs!**

**IamInk:** Hehee, hopefully this chapter wont have a cliffy? Haha, thank you very much! It was hard writing the fight scene, I'm glad it turned out ok. ^_^ And don't worry about the cookies. They're made out of love and I have plenty to go around (::)(::)(::)  
**Hedgi:** Yes, there's a lot of guilty!Tadashi on its way. And this chapter should tell you whether Hiro gets rescued or not. I hope you like it! (::)(::)  
**Dolphingirls:** Thank you very much for understanding. I appologies for taking so long. But now, things will slow down and be less hectic so I should be able to update regularly. Hehee (::)  
**The Amazing Cat:** Lol, yup a sequel! I'm still yelling about to anyone who'll listen XD I still can't comprehend it all. Stan Lee himself confirmed it. Aww... Thank you! (::) Exams have been such a hassle. Ugh, who even invented them anyway?  
**write that wrong:** Yup, you pretty much got it! XD And thank you very much for the compliments. You have no idea how much I appreciate it! It made me so happy! (::) This one doesn't have a lot of action but I hope you'll like this chapter as well.  
**Bookaholic1871:** Your wish is my command XD Here you go! Enjoy! (::)  
**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Thank you for the support and understanding (::) My brain tells me the same thing but I never listen to it XD  
**CookieGuest:** Haha, please don't worry about it. I'm very sorry for the reeeeally long delay for this update. (::) Nah, I still think your username is very kawaii! ^_^  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** IKR!? Jeez, Tadashi... you poor thing. Hopefully he'll be okay (*whispers* No.. not really...) Thank you for the review (::)  
**Anonymous**: Yeah, poor little guy. Hope he's okay? Thank you for the review (::)  
**Guest1:** No, You rock! Thank you very much! (::) And yeah, a whole lot of enraged/guilty/protective/big bro Tadashi is on its way.  
**ChigauBakemono:** Thank you very much! (::) I try my best... Hehee  
**GuitarGeek:** Haha, sorry for the late update. As you know, life... Anyways Thank you! (::)  
**Dissidia180:** Really? O_O OMGosh! Thank you very very much! You made me so happy ^_^ (::)  
**ILikeToSneeze:** Thank you and I hope you'll continue to like it for many more chapters in the future. (::)  
**Aveneer Holodu:** Lol, sorry. It a bad habit of mine. One I'm breaking so hope you'll like this chapter. (::)  
**Purpalz Miner (PEARL):** Thank you very much! I can't stop fangirling at the news (Even now) Hehee (::)  
**animals202:** Haha, don't worry about it. I'm really glad and happy you took the time to review! Your awesome! (::) And it is, I went back and changed it.  
**bryanne:** Thank you very much for giving my story a go. I'm very happy you liked it. (::) Hopefully I wont let you down.  
**Gravityfallsfan:** ;-; Thank you! Your review really made me feel like a... non-failure. See, cause of you, I'm not calling myself a failure anymore. You're awesome! (::) And thank you for the cookie *Eats it with tears in eyes*  
**yangires:** There is. Tadashi is... ah well, why don't you read and find out the rest. XD Thank you! (::)  
**IndiaMoore:** Thank you! And here you go! A cookie as well as an update! (::)  
**Guest2:** Then wait no more, my friend. Here's an update. (::)  
**CrimsonQueen24:** Two? Let me know who the other one is, okay? XD And as for what those two want, you'll have to read on and find out. (::) Also, your my 100's reviewer! SO YAAAAAAY! Extra cookies! (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)  
**dragonhiro:** Thank you very much! It means a lot! Here's a cookie! (::)  
**firelass19:** Brotherhood is the main theme of my story. So I'm glad I'm potraying it right. Thank you very much! (::)

**And a HUGEEEEE THANK YOU for everyone who's Followed and Favorited my story! **  
**I LOVE Y'ALL SO DAMN MUCH! **

And now, ONWARDS WITH THE CHAPTER! ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 6:** **Palpable Guilt**

"Ow! Hey, watch it dude!"

Some pedestrian yelled loudly as Tadashi raced by him, almost knocking him to the ground. Tadashi couldn't care less though. All he cared about was his little brother. His mind was racing with every possible scenario as to why Hiro would venture out of their apartment alone; _with his Neko mask no less_. He had given the little knucklehead specific instructions just like he always had and Hiro never disobeyed him before. _So why now? _

_What the hell was that bonehead thinking?! _

Did this have something to do with the bot he was building? Had Hiro finally finished it and decided to go bot fighting all by himself? _No way!_ Over Tadashi's dead body! Hiro wouldn't even think about doing something as crazy as that, would he?

_Dammit Hiro! What are you up to?_

Tadashi parkour'd through the city. He zipped past a whole crowd of people; pushing aside anyone who got in the way. He heard them yell angrily at him and some even cursed at him but he gave them no heed.

His legs were starting to burn and he wanted to slow down a little but the beeping noise that was coming from the device he held in his hand prevented him from doing so. _Argh! Why does their damn apartment have to be so far away? _He spared a split second glance at the tracking device; it indicated that Hiro was still only just outside the building. _Good._

_When he gets home, he was so grounding his sneaky little brother for a whole freaking year! _

Tadashi was vaguely aware of the SFIT students following him. He was impressed that they were able to keep up with him. Then again, he was the one literally ploughing through everyone and everything in his way. The Asian girl who always chewed gum was the one who surprised him the most. She seemed almost as good as he was; which was really saying something. He wanted to lose them but that wasn't his top priority at the moment. Getting to Hiro was.

The hammer that had replaced his heart began beating harder against his chest when the beeping noises got louder and more prominent. Tadashi glanced at the tracker again. The tracker that he had placed in his little brother's hood had just deactivated. _Oh shit!_ Had Hiro found out about the chip and decided to remove it? That was the only way to deactivate it. _Well, that and destroying it of course_. How had he found out? Tadashi had been extra careful while sewing that thing in.

_Aw man! This was not good! _

The older Hamada brother quickened his pace and took every damn shortcut there was to reach Hiro faster. And after feeling like his legs were going to fall off from all the running, Tadashi finally reached their apartment just in time to see some sort of a pale purple smoke clearing away from the building. It seemed to just dissipate into the air around it.

_What the heck is that? Was Hiro the one responsible for it? _

Only when Tadashi ran closer did he see a helicopter hovering over the other side of the building and cold dread washed over him like a tidal wave.

_Oh god no! Please no! This is not happening! Hiro! _

Tadashi doesn't waste another second as he runs up the fire escape that's on the side of the building. He tackles the stairs two to three steps at a time; occasionally even just jumping onto the next level of stairs altogether. He had to reach the rooftop as fast as possible.

_Hiro! Please, let it not be too late! Please let him be okay! _

He reaches the top of the flat roof just in time to see a man and a woman climbing into the chopper with an unconscious Hiro. Seeing that made Tadashi's heart skip a beat. _Or two…_

"HIROOOO!"

The two strange people in question turned around. Tadashi could now see Hiro more clearly. _His Hiro!_ His baby brother seemed to be completely out cold in the woman's arms. His hair was a mess and was flying all over the place due to the heavy winds caused by the blades of the chopper. His clothes were all torn up and the older brother could see many bruises on his pale skin. Hiro seemed so helpless and vulnerable and tiny in the clutches of his kidnappers.

Tadashi felt white hot rage build up inside him when he saw the woman smirk cruelly at him. And right then, he swore on his parents' grave to get revenge on them for even laying a finger on his baby brother. _How dare they?_

The woman in response to his rage tightened her hold on the boy in her arms; as if only to add fuel to the already faming fire. Tadashi was absolutely fuming. _No one dares mess with his little brother! No one!_ It would be the last mistake they ever made. That woman is DEAD! And so were anybody else who were associated with her. Tadashi was going to send them all to hell!

But before Tadashi even realized it, the shutters closed shut and the helicopter began lifting away from the roof and into the sky. The winds were so strong that it blew away Tadashi's cap and made him cover his eyes as dust flew into them. Despite the protection of his forearm, his eyes began to water turning his vision blurry but he still held his ground.

_They're getting away!_

"NO!" Tadashi yelled on top of his lungs and sprung forward; each step propelling him to get to the flying machine faster. His feet hit the ground hard and he began to gain speed. The chopper was already a distance away from the building. If he had enough speed and momentum, he could make the jump and latch onto the helicopter somehow! It was a long shot… a very very long shot but Tadashi was more than willing to take that risk. Anything for Hiro!

_C'mon! I can make the jump. I can make it! Just a little more speed! Hang in there, Hiro! I'm coming!_

Just when Tadashi was about to make the huge leap of faith, something slammed into his back, sending him crashing to the floor. He felt the heavy load weighing on him. It prevented him from getting back up. He craned his neck sideways to see what or who it was.

_GoGo!_ _What the hell?!_

The gum chewing SFIT student held onto his shoulders with a surprisingly firm grip.

Tadashi grits his teeth and tries to push her away. "Dammit! Get of me!" He yells at her before snapping his head back towards the chopper which was now nothing more than a spec in the sky.

"Hiroooo! Noooo!"

The helicopter was gone.

It was gone… _Taking his soul with it. _

Tadashi feels the emptiness grow inside him like a black void of nothingness. It was swallowing him whole. He felt as though someone had just dug into his chest and wrenched his heart out. The loss and the agonizing realizing finally hits him like a brick wall and he stops struggling and goes limp under the girl; letting his forehead rest on the cold ground in defeat. GoGo climbs off of him slowly and crouches next to him.

Tadashi weakly picks himself up on his hands and knees. "Why?" He whispers brokenly. He balls his fists and with a sudden burst of fury he turns and glares at the Asian girl. "What the hell do you think you were doing?!"

"Uh, saving your life?" GoGo replied nonchalantly as she stood up and crossed her arms at him. She glared back and seemed the least bit affected by his wrath.

"Don't give me that crap!" Tadashi stood up too. He was in her face and was only seeing red at this point. "I could've made that jump if you hadn't stopped me!"

The others chose that moment to show up and join them. They all were panting heavily and had a _'What's going on here'_ expression on their faces. But neither Tadashi nor GoGo acknowledged their presence.

"No, you would've ended up a splatter on the ground fifty feet below us and you know it." GoGo snapped, jabbing a finger at his chest.

Tadashi glared at her even more. His breathing turned heavy and he looked like he was going to punch her. But before the situation escalated anymore, Honey steps in in hopes to pacify the enraged teen. "Please, everyone just calm down."

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down when a bunch of lunatics just kidnapped my brother?!"

Honey flinches from the harshness in his voice. Was that what the helicopter was? They had caught a glimpse of it while running over here. "Your brother…?"

Tadashi's expression softens and his body slumps with the hollowness that he felt inside. He rubs his hand tiredly over his face. "Yeah, my little brother…He was all I had left of my family… And now… now he's gone."

Tadashi's voice hitched and didn't know why he was telling them all this. It doesn't matter now anyway. He sighs in defeat. "It's all my fault. He's gone because… because I didn't stay and protect him." _Like I should have._ _Like I promised him._

"Tadashi…" Honey was at a loss for words. What could she possibly tell him? She barely knew him. She didn't understand the situation as well as she would've liked to. She hadn't seen what GoGo saw. But nonetheless, seeing him so broken made her heart clench and she wanted nothing more than to give him a hug and tell him that everything would be alright.

"I should've stayed… I should've protected him… I shouldn't have gone to that stupid college. Should've stayed… All my fault," Tadashi was muttering to himself the same words over and over again like a broken record. _If only he had been a little faster. Arrived a little sooner… Hiro, I'm so **so** sorry. I failed you. _He drags himself over to the many metal pieces scattered around the roof top as the other four exchange concerned gazes.

He crouches near one in particular. It was the dragon mask that Hiro had been working on for months. He picks it up and flips it over and notices that it was shielding the Neko mask inside. With little effort he pulls the two masks apart. He puts the silvery damaged dragon mask down but holds on to the Neko mask. He rubs a thumb over its red designs lovingly. A faint smile passes his lips as a tear slips from his eyes and rolls down his cheeks. _Oh Hiro… What am I going to do now? _His features turn pained and grim. _How am I supposed to save you? _

"Tadashi, this isn't your fault," Honey's gentle voice comes from behind him. "You… you didn't know this was going to happen."

Tadashi hides his face and shakes his head; subtly wiping away the wayward tear. "If I hadn't been so damn selfish!" _None of this would've happened and Hiro would be safe._ Hiro would still be with him; smiling and happy. It was all because of his stupid selfish needs. His need to be normal… To have friends. _God, what have I done?_ _Hiro… I'm sorry…_ The pain in his chest hurts so damn much!

"Look man, we don't know what's going on here but we'd like to help. Whatever you need, just ask." Wasabi spoke for the first time since arriving there and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I don't need your help." Tadashi spat, anger beginning to light up inside him once again. "I need my brother back!" _God only knows who those people are and what they're going to do to Hiro._ "I need to find him."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" GoGo asks with a raised eyebrow. She wanted to help too but getting all emotional and whiny about it instead of thinking for a solution isn't going to help anybody.

"I donno," Tadashi said. He seemed to have read her mind and was now trying to get his act together. He growls at himself in frustration before turning his hate filled eyes to the skies above. "But I'll figure something out." _And when I do… There's going to be **hell** to pay. _

"Uh, dude…" Fred said almost excitedly as he points at the alley below them. "Maybe all that carnage down there will help."

The thought of them being undercover detectives searching for clues to figure out who the bad guys were and rescue Tadashi's little brother made him very happy. It would be just like the comics he loved to read.

"What?" A puzzled Tadashi and the others walk over to join Fred and they lean over the roof to see what he was talking about. Only two words escaped the Hamada brother's lips followed by the gasps of the others.

"My god."

Tadashi flew down the fire escape and circled around the building and stood at the mouth of the alley way in shock. The others came to a stand behind him. Everyone had their mouths open in awe at the sheer destruction before them. _And they thought the roof top scene was bad._

Tadashi looked devastated. He could almost see how the fight went down and how much his baby brother suffered. The sight was extremely unsettling. The splatter of blood here and there was the most disturbing. "Aw Hiro…"

Tadashi was the first one to walk deeper into the alley. He made his way over to the pile of crushed boxes first. The junk was all smashed up and it littered the place. He saw that the hatch above it was open. He could easily guess why.

This meant that Hiro used the emergency escape route to exit their home. He wouldn't have done that unless it was absolutely necessary. That means whoever attacked Hiro must've gotten into their apartment first. Hiro hadn't left after all. He only left because he was given no other choice. That would also explain the purple smoke he saw earlier. _They tried to suffocate him…_ Tadashi concluded and felt immense guilt for ever doubting the little guy.

Whoever those people were just continued hammering nails into their own coffins. Tadashi was going to rip them apart with his bare hands when he finds them. They're going to wish they were dead after he's done with them. He was going to make sure their deaths are slow and agonizing.

He bent down and picked up the Copper Polyesterine net that lay discarded amongst the boxes. He brushed his fingers against the thick material. Polyesterine was a new kind of material the scientists at Krei Tech had manufactured not too long ago. It was made solely for military purposes; or so they had everyone believe apparently. But this was the first time Tadashi had seen it being used this way. It was a good conductor of electricity and it nullified any electromagnetic waves from entering or escaping its barriers. It infuriated him to know that such a thing was used against his brother. They knew Hiro's special abilities. Which only made things worse. They better not harm his brother more than they already have…

_When he finds the people responsible for this, he was gonna-_

"Hey, check out this awesome piece of tech!" Fred called out happily. He held the inactive gauntlet up and proceeded to take aim at nothing and pretended to fire from it while making laser shot noises. He seemed to be having a blast.

"Whoa there," Wasabi jumped back as Fred aimed it at him. "Watch where you're pointing that thing, man."

Tadashi jogs over to them and holds out his hand to Fred. "Give it here." He demands and takes it from Fred who looked like a kid who just got his toys stolen by a bully.

"What is it?" Wasabi asks as everybody gathers around the distraught Hamada brother.

"Looks dangerous to me." GoGo says eyeing the gauntlet suspiciously.

"It is… It's a weapon. An illegal one at that."

"An illegal weapon? Who would use something like that?" Honey asked. She sounded horrified at the idea of someone using such a thing against someone else. It must be illegal for a good reason, right?

"I donno," _But I have a good hunch_. Tadashi starts ripping the device apart mercilessly until he gets to its core. He pulls out a particular piece and holds it up so the others can see. "But I know where it came from."

"Krei Tech? Seriously?"

"Looks like I'll be paying a little visit to Mr. Alistair Krei."

* * *

Well, would you look at that. I'm actually capable of ending a chapter without a cliffy. XD

Anyways, I'm sorry if this chapter is a little slow. It's just beginning to gear up for something better. Trust me. But what do you guys think? Is Krei the one behind all this? Stick around and find out.

**IMPORTANT:** Guys, what do you think would be a good alias (Fake name) for the Hamada brothers to go by? I would love to hear some of your ideas. Cause I've been trying to think of something other than Kitsune and Neko but I can't seem to come up with anything. Please help me out? (I'll give you full credit for it *winks* and a cake) If you think I should just keep it as Kitsune and Neko then that's okay too. So Review or PM me and let me know please.

Until next time!  
*Fist-Bump*  
Ba-la-la-la-lala


	7. Chapter 7: Deceitful Innocence

**A.U:** Yay! I'm back and totally refreshed. My vacations ended a few days ago (Boo…) but I had so much fun travelling around with my family. That's why I couldn't update, I'm very sorry about that! My mom being the bossy parent she is didn't allow me to take my laptop with me on our trip. But I started working on it as soon as I got back so here it is. TA-DA!

But first!

**Shout-Outs!**

**Izi Wilson****:** Thank you for the suggestion! (::)(::)(::)Shadoshi does sound pretty cool! I'm thinking you chose that name by combining Shadow and Tadashi? That's pretty clever. It had actually given me the idea for KageTsume and as for Techiro another author requested me not to use it so yeah ^_^  
**IamInk:** Well, compared to my usual cliffy/s, that was pretty… mellow? *Slowly backs away* Thank you for the suggestions. (::)(::) Haha, a FT fan huh? Who's your favorite character? Mine's Jellal! I LOVE HIM! And Natsu and Grey too!  
**CookieGuest:** Ah! My cookie loving guest is back. (::) Thank you! Here's another chapter! ^_^  
**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Yup. And that's what I decided to keep. It suits them I guess. (::) Thanks for the help.  
**Guest1:** DUDE! YOUR REVIEW MADE MY DAY! NO FORGET THAT! IT MADE MY WHOLE MONTH! Thank you very very much for leaving me such a wonderful review. You have no idea how glad I am that you liked it. I HOPE YOUR FINALS WERE AWESOME AND KNOCKED EM DEAD! BEST OF LUCK! (::)(::)(::)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** It was actually 2,800 words (This one is 3000) so not that short? And chill. I won't use them ^_^ Cool names btw! (::)  
**The Amazing Cat:** Thanks for trying! (::) And also for the review! I'm super happy you like my writing style. It means a lot!  
**write that wrong:** YAY! (::) I'm glad I got it right. You have no idea how nervous I was about it. Hehe.  
**KungfuKittyKat:** Nope. It won't be. You'll get a tiny glimpse of how serious Tadashi is in this chapter. So I hope you like it. (::)  
**CrazyFeralVigilanteDragonLady:** Hahaha! Don't we all? XD Thank you for the suggestion! I thought the nick name idea was very sweet. I might include that in the story and when I do I'll give you full credit! *winks* (::)  
**dragonhiro:** (::) Haha, I think that's already being used by somebody else…? And thank you for the cookie!  
**AuiHeart:** The better question would be, why are you so awesome?! Thank you for your review! (::)  
**ZebraFinch:** I think about what has to happen in the story everyday but once I sit down to write a chapter I usually finish it. And I normally sit down to write it on a Saturday (when life decides to give me a little break) But sometimes I type it down on my phone (like dialogues and stuff) I hope that answered your question? (::)  
**animals202:** Thank you! I shall try my hardest to! (::)  
**IndiaMoore:** Hehe, thank you! Here's an update. Enjoy! (::)  
**Starlight420:** It might look easy but trust me, that's the part I struggle with most. Especially Fred's character. ;-; I really really really wanna do those awesome characters justice and not mess things up. Thank you so much for the compliment! (::)  
**Purpalz Miner:** Yup, since more than one of you guys suggested me to go with Kitsune and Neko, that's what I decided to do. Thank you for the help! (::)  
**Guest2:** Yup! (::) And here you go! A cookie and a new chappy fresh from the oven! XD

**AND A BIG BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE OF YOU AMAZING PEEPS OUT THERE WHO'VE FOLLOWED and FAVORITED THIS STORY! *HUGS EVERYBODY* **

Now then, lets get on with the show, shall we? ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Deceitful Innocence **

_"Looks like I'll be paying a little visit to Mr. Alistair Krei."_ Tadashi spat the CEO's name as he pushed passed the SFIT students and began walking out of the alley towards his apartment building. He hurried past the broken bricks and dented dumpsters. He couldn't stand being in this place anymore. This place that reminded him of what his brother was forced to go through without him. It was breaking his heart.

_Hiro… Hang on. I'm coming… _

Tadashi groans in frustration when he hears the hurried set of footsteps following him.

"Wait, hang on man, we're coming with you." Wasabi said; keeping quick stride with his friends as they followed the raven haired teen up the abandoned building.

"No." Tadashi said indifferently; not even stopping or turning to look at them as he briskly climbed up the stairs. No way was he letting them accompany him to Krei Tech Industries.

"Look, Tadashi, we are your friends now." Honey panted as she caught up to him just as he turned to go up another long flight of stairs. She managed to stop him by his wrist and came to stand beside him. _Having long legs and being tall sure had its sweet advantages. _

Tadashi stopped ascending the stairs and finally turned to look at her and the others. Honey Lemon let go of his wrist and held out a familiar object in her other hand. She smiled softly at him as he reached out to take it from her. "We just wanna help. So please let us."

Tadashi takes the cap from the blonde and holds it with both his hands. Even though his eyes remained fixed on it, they were gazing at something beyond the woollen accessory. His parents had given it to him so many years ago. Its stitches were completely worn out but he didn't care. It was the last of what was left of his loving parents. They were nothing more than a memory now; not even a photograph to remember them by. He had been devastated when he lost them. Tadashi had almost succumbed to depression; the only thing that kept him sane and anchored to reality was his little brother, Hiro.

_Oh Hiro… Please be safe._

Tadashi refused to let his brother become like his parents; _just a memory_. No way. He wouldn't let that happen to his brother. He sent a silent prayed to his mom and dad to keep Hiro safe until he could rescue him.

The four other teens stood silently for a couple of seconds. They saw an array of emotions cross Tadashi's face. He looked so lost and burdened; as if the fate of the world rested on his shoulders. Then again, maybe for him _it did._

GoGo finally broke the silence, effectively snapping him out of his troubled thoughts. "Like it or not, Takachiho. We're a part of this now so we're helping whether you want it or not." She said sternly giving him no room to argue.

"Whatever." Tadashi mutters; turning his gaze away from them. He clenched his fists; but not from anger or hate… but something else.

There was that feeling in his chest again. _That long forgotten feeling… _Something he dared never to get used to.

He sighs and rolls his eyes; stuffing his cap in his back pocket and continued climbing up the stairs without another word. His _'new'_ annoyingly persistent friends followed right behind him.

They reached the floor of Tadashi's house and curiously followed him inside. Everybody stood shocked at the sight of the living room. It was totally trashed; as if a hurricane had come by and destroyed it.

Tadashi narrowed his eyes. _Was the intruder looking for something or was the cause of all this destruction the fight between them and Hiro?_ He couldn't tell. There was no blood anywhere; which was a good thing. He made a quick survey of the place and noted that even though his apartment was a complete mess, nothing had been stolen. It almost seemed as though the intruder trashed up the place just for the heck of it.

He silently walked into the kitchen leaving the others to look around the living room. He wasn't surprised to see the slab out of place and the escape hatch wide open. He saw the food and other things dumped haphazardly on the floor. He knelt down and picked up a dust covered muffin.

_Hiro hadn't even eaten anything before he had gotten ambushed_. Anger filled him once more leading him to crush the snack in his hand. He threw it away in disgust. He spun around and walked back into the main room.

"This is where you live?" Honey couldn't help but ask as she watched Tadashi exit the kitchen and head straight for what she assumed was the bathroom.

"Not anymore." He deadpanned; tossing the words impassively over his shoulder as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Honey felt sadness after hearing his emotionless words. She was sure this place wasn't a very hygienic place to stay in; even before all the damage. _Why was Tadashi and his brother living in a place like this? Where were their parents? Were they run-aways? _She wanted to ask him so many things but restrained herself from doing so. He was already pretty closed lipped about it and she didn't want to end up overwhelming him. Then he'd never accept their help or friendship again. They would end up losing what little progress they had made with him. She decided to take it one step at a time but was determined to make Tadashi come out of his tight shell and open up and trust them more.

After Tadashi entered the bathroom he gave it a quick scan. It seemed untouched. _Good_. He thought as he went over to the sink and crouched near one of its cabinets. He tried to pull it open using the loose nobs and as expected it didn't budge. _For a termite infested cabinet door the thing sure was jammed into place._ He used both his hands to pry open one of the doors and shuffled through some junk until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a yellow plastic bag and scrunched up his face in disgust when a few cockroaches came skittering out. He brushed them aside and resisted the urge to step on them.

He watched for a moment where the cockroaches escaped in different directions to safety and smiled at a memory where his brother had shrieked like a little girl at the sight of a cockroach on his bed. These things were something Hiro would never get used to in this nomadic life of theirs. His brother had this irrational fear that the cockroaches would climb into his ear and lay eggs in there. He always hated those nasty little creatures, he would often question its existence and purpose in this world. Tadashi always made sure he got rid of those creepy crawlies before moving into a run-down house._ At least he tried his best to get rid of them... _

His smile faded away as his mind came back to the present. _I'll get you back Hiro, if it's the last damn thing I do! _

He unwrapped the plastic bag and pulled out the object that was protectively hidden within.

A gun. _A Colt 1911 A1 .45 caliber._ It had some beautiful swirly engraving on its barrel. He slid the magazine out and made sure all the bullets were in there before sliding it back in. He tucked the weapon into the back of his waistband as he stood up to leave the bathroom.

He entered the living room once more and saw his friends waiting for him. The look on their faces told him that they were expecting him to tell them what their next move was going to be. It was plainly obvious to Tadashi. He made his way over to the flipped over couch and bent to pick up his black jacket and Kitsune mask. He made sure to hide the mask from his new friends. There was no reason for them to know about who his Kitsune persona just yet. Plus he didn't have the time to explain it to them either. Saving Hiro came before everything. He then turned and faced them with a stern expression.

"Alright, let's go."

After a few long hours of Wasabi's painfully careful driving they finally arrived at Krei Tech. The drive there was tense; something the gang wasn't used to. The sky was already turning dark. This only annoyed Tadashi more. He wanted things to move along faster. If he was on his own; he would've gotten here sooner so why exactly was he letting these guys tag along? _Oh right..._ It was cause of that stupid illogical feeling he was starting to get used to. _Dammit, no! Stay focused Tadashi!_ The teen leaned forward and looked up through the windshield at the glass structure.

Krei Tech Industries was a large tall building; towering over almost every other building in San Fransokyo. Tadashi figured Alistair Krei's office would most likely be on one of the top floors. He zipped up his black jacket and exited the car. "You guys wait here."

"But-"

"No, you'll only get in my way," Tadashi said sternly; closing the car's door shut with a little more force than necessary. "Besides, Krei and I are just gonna have a little talk." He smirked through the window.

"Okay…" The others had their doubts but didn't question him.

"How exactly do you plan on getting inside?" GoGo asked. "Let alone into Krei's office."

"I have my ways," They heard him say as they worriedly watched him walk away.

**_Inside Krei-Tech Industries-_**

"Hope the meeting went well, sir." A particularly sweet sounding female voice asked the CEO of the company as the two walked side by side just after exiting the elevator to the 75th floor.

"It would've gone better if you were there."

"Now you know I can't follow you everywhere, Mr Krei," his personal assistant chuckled.

"I wish you did. It would definitely make my life a lot easier," Krei teased. He stopped walking and turned to face her; causing the latter to do the same. "You're one of my most hardworking employees. I'm glad your father recommended you to us, Abigail." He told her and gave her a genuinely grateful smile.

"That's very flattering of you, sir." Abigail smiled back and then bowed a little. "But I must be the one to thank you for giving me the opportunity."

"Stop being so modest." Krei smirked and continued towards his office. "By the way, how's that new venture coming along?"

"Quite well, sir. You'll be pleased to know that the head of Cialo Corporate are fully on board and the sponsors have begun to flood in. Our shares have also gone up a great deal."

"That's music to my ears."

They continued the conversation until they reached Krei's office. Abigail stopped just outside the door and held out some papers to him. "Lastly, I need you to sign these."

"Sure," Krei took them and did as she instructed. "What are these by the way?"

"Just some low level business that needed your approval. Nothing you need to concern yourself with, sir."

"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about. I better watch my back. If you keep this up you might replace me as CEO."

"I don't think that's possible, sir." Abigail half smirks and turns to leave. "Have a nice day, Mr. Krei."

Krei smiles to himself. He opens the door to his office and makes his way inside. He strides over to his large wooden desk and takes a seat tiredly. He sighs at the paperwork that's stacked in front of him. He lethargically begins going through some of the files that were arranged neatly to his right; ready for inspection. He was sure this was also Abigail's doing. The smile returns to his face. God bless the day she joined the company. She really was a brilliant employee. She worked harder than any other employee he had. She never once asked for a raise. She never took a day off. In fact, when was the last time she took a vacation? She also often stayed back and worked late even when he insisted that she should go home and spend more time with her father. But she was someone who seemed married to her job. _What would he do without her?_ He wondered.

Krei hadn't even finished going through the first file yet when the lights suddenly went off. The wall behind him was entirely made up of a glass and so the only light that was left illuminating the room was the artificial lights from the shorter buildings outside.

The evening sky wasn't helping as it grew darker and darker with each passing minute and Krei wondered why the backup generator hadn't kicked in yet. His brows knitted in confusion. This kind of a blackout never happened before. He tuned in his rotating chair to look out the window. He could see the rest of San Fransokyo from his office and the whole city was lit. So it was only his company building that lost power. He wondered what was going on.

But before another thought even entered his mind, Krei hears a grim voice call out his name and nearly jumps out of his skin.

"Alistair Krei."

The voice came from somewhere inside his office. Krei whirled around in his chair and scanned the dark room. Just then a black silhouette of a man emerges from the shadows. Krei watches with eyes wide open as the figure approaches him slowly and menacingly.

"What the- Who are you? How did you get in here?" Alistair asks in confusing. He could sense a dangerous aura around the man. A spike of fear shoots up Krei's body causing him to abruptly stand up from his chair. He tries to back away from the approaching threat slowly.

"Doesn't matter. You and I need to talk."

As the figure inches closer, Krei gets a better look at him and his heart nearly jumps to his throat when he sees the man wearing a trademark Fox mask. "You… You're-" Realization dawns on him and he immediately reaches for the phone stationed idly by his desk to call security.

"Don't bother. No one's coming." Kitsune told him in a monotone voice.

This of course didn't stop Krei from trying. But before he could even pick up the receiver Kitsune was at his side. He grabs Krei by the back of his neck and slams him against the desk; nearly breaking the business man's nose.

Krei grunts from the impact and yelps when he feels something cold pressed against his jugular. Kitsune places a dangerously sharp knife at his throat and the suited man does everything in his power not to whimper in fear.

"I'm only going to ask this once." Kitsune growled. "Where's my brother?"

"Wha- I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play games with me!" Kitsune barked harshly and just to show how serious he was being, he nicks Krei's skin, drawing a little blood; causing the man to wince in pain and nearly hyperventilate.

"O-oh god! Please don't hurt me! I don't know anything about your brother. Please!" Krei choked on what little air was being allowed into his lungs.

"Don't play dumb! It was your tech the man who kidnapped my brother used. A man _you_ hired!" Kitsune snarled as he pushed Krei down harder on the desk.

"Please," Alistair breathed; despite the fact that his lungs were being crushed. The knife pressing against his throat was making it harder for him to even think straight. He prayed somebody would come to his rescue soon. Or he was as good as dead at the hands of the masked man. "I don't know what you're talking about. I-I didn't hire anyone and my… My tech, it's distributed all over the world, anyone could-"

"No!" Kitsune yelled; abruptly cutting him off. "See, I happen to know that that little piece of tech was banned by the government. Your project was shut down and only a prototype was ever made. And _you_! You gave it to the man who hurt my brother. Now tell me where he is or I'll slit your damn throat!"

"No wait! Please! I really don't have any idea-"

"That's it!" Kitsune suddenly roared in anger. He ditches the knife and pulls out his gun and points it behind him and shoots; all without letting Krei go or turning around. The large window behind them shatters; leaving a huge gaping hole in the wall. A strong gust of wind from the outside blows in and scatters the files and papers to the floor. Sheets of paper flew everywhere and some even flew outside.

Krei flinches at the sound of gunshot. His heart skipped a beat thinking that the bullet was meant for him and had already killed him. But to his surprise he hears the glass behind him shatter and that's when his brain catches onto the fact that the gun was never pointing at him. But his brief sense of relief was short lived when he realizes what was about to happen next.

Kitsune pulls the struggling man up by his collar and drags him to the open window. He forces Krei to stand at the edge of it; leaving only his toes for support. Krei's legs wobbled and they felt like jello. He claws desperately trying to reach out to grab something, _anything_ to save his life but there was nothing to hold onto except for sharp pointy glass that was still too far out of reach. He yells in panic and fear. The only thing that was keeping him from falling seventy five stories to the cement ground below was a criminal clutching tightly onto his collar. The only thing between him and death now was a little piece of fabric.

Krei did the only thing he could think of at that moment.

He begged for his life.

"No please! Please, don't do this! I'll give you anything you want! Money-"

"I don't want your damn money! I want my brother! Now I'm gonna ask this one last time. Where. Is. My. Brother?"

"I don't know!"

"Wrong answer." Kitsune says emotionlessly and lets Krei go.

* * *

HOLY CRAP! KREI! Tadashi, what are you doing?!

Yup, so that's the end of this chapter. Hope you guys liked it! And I wanna again thank all of you who gave me some very wonderful ideas for the 'names' question I asked in the last chapter. It inspired me to do some thinking and a lot of research and decided to go with either the name **"KuroTsume Brothers"** or** "KageTsume Brothers"** for the Hamada bros. Kuro means Black, Kage means shadow (Cause like I mentioned in chapter one; they always wear black) and Tsune means Claw or Talon (Cause of their animal personas: Fox and Cat) And for their individual names I decided to stick with Kitsune and Neko. What do you think? If you have a better sounding name or a more meaningful name for 'em then I'm all ears! ^_^

Review and please do let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! Reviews fuel my sadistic soul ;-) Hehe, until next time!  
*Fist-bump*  
Ba-la-la-lala


	8. Chapter 8: Secrets Revealed

**A.N:** Alright! I'm back! From another long trip. Jeez, I can't believe how many of those I'm going on this year. In the middle of a school year no less. *sigh* So many things to catch up on. I feel exhausted just thinking about it all ;-; Anywho, I realize it's been a while (I'm sorry) and you guys deserve an update and I didn't wanna wait till the end of this week so I'm uploading this today (Such an odd day for an update, huh?) This chapter was extremely hard to write for some reason but I got it done. so here it is! Ta-Da!

**Shout-Outs!**

**IamInk****:** Yay! I'm super glad you liked it! My favorite? Hmm… Well, I really love Jellal. So Jerza! ^_^ Oh and here you go (::)(::)(::)  
**Starlight420:** No, I guess he didn't XD And you'll be seeing… or rather reading what Hiro has been up to soon. Hope he's okay… (::)(::)  
**ZebraFinch:** Gald you liked the cookies. Here's another (::) As for Hiro, you will have to wait and see *wink*  
**Guest1:** Thank you so much! Hehe. And yeah, I'm just as excited to write them and all those brotherly feelz that's sure to be on its way. (::)  
**AnimeWolfGirl16:** ^_^ Thank you for the pick. But unfortunately, majorty of you guys wanted the other one… So… Ummm… Sorry… Oh! But here's an extra cookie for you! (::)(::)  
**Twitface is awesome:** OH! That's great! Here's an official welcome to Fanfiction from me! (::)*Hugs* And thanks for the pick.  
**write that wrong:** We shall see what Tadashi does in this chapter, huh? And the whole Arrow thing you mentioned was such a HUGE COINCEDENCE! I nearly squealed. My friend is a huge fan and leant me the whole series but I haven't watched it yet cause I just cant seem to find the time for anything these days. But I will sit down to watch it soon (::)  
**Allanna Stone:** Yup! And here you go! (::)  
**ashes34:** Thank you for the pick! That's what I had to go with. (::)  
**IndiaMoore:** It was? Yay! Good to know I'm not being predictable with my story. (::)  
**Guest2:** Thank you! Here's the next chapter. (::)  
**MoonVampire:** You cant really know for sure, can you? Hehe. (::)  
**Guest3:** Oh yeah, I know of that name. There's already another fanfiction of that I believe? But anyways, thanks for the suggestion. (::)  
**CookieGuest:** Lol, Tadashi… poor poor Tadashi… Hope he knows what he's doing… (::)  
**XxNightjar:** Yes, yes you will. I could never forget Hiro. You'll be seeing him soon. I promise. (::)  
**dragonhiro:** OH! Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment as well as the cookies! (::)  
**KungfuKittyKat:** Haha, yeah, and to lose the mean cruel bug I went on another short vacation XD And guess what? (Spoiler- This chapter doesn't end with a cliffy) So yay! I'm cured (::)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** Isnt that the question we've all been asking!? Poor boys! Gosh, what am I doing to them? (::)  
**Purpalz Miner:** Yeah, Tadashi gets it all mixed up when Hiro is involved. XD (::)  
**dragon god 758:** Hmm… parings? Well, you'll have to wait and see where it goes cause even I'm not sure what I'm gonna write next XD (::)

**And now! Read on my fellow Awesome GummyGirls and Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Secrets Revealed**

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion for Krei. He watched as the man in the Kitsune mask unclenched his fist and let go of his collar.

He felt as though gravity had suddenly increased; pulling him to the earth a hundred times faster. It was true what they say about your life flashing before your eyes. Krei sent one last prayer to the heavens and slammed his eyes shut.

But just when he was about to fall completely out the open window, he jerked to a stop_. W-was that it? Am I dead? But that didn't hurt at all. Where was the pain? No, wait…_ Confused and scared, he slowly opened his eyes to reveal the Fox masked man clutching onto the tip of his tie. Krei could've sworn that the man was giving him a deadly glare from behind his mask.

Before he knew it, Krei was pulled back into the building. Kitsune had let him go. His weak legs finally gave out from under him, making Krei collapse onto his back on the grey carpeted floor. He closed his eyes and thanked whoever was looking out for him. He loosened the tie with twitchy fingers. His breath came out as hiccups as he gulped in much needed air. It was only now that he was able to breathe a little easier.

_But it wasn't over yet_.

He tensed when he felt a presence looming over him. His eye lids wrinkled as he squeezed them more tightly than he had done ever before. He flinched when he felt cold metal press against his forehead.

After Kitsune let Krei go and watched him fall on his back, he knelt at the side of the business man's head and placed a gun at the center of his forehead and spoke in a dangerous tone. "The only reason I'm letting you live is because I believe you're telling the truth. But if I find out you were behind this in any way whatsoever, I will come back here and put a bullet through your head. Understand?"

Processing the words of the masked man, Krei jerkily nodded his head; too afraid to speak.

Kitsune sighed and stepped over Krei and began walking towards the exit. But just before he crossed the threshold to the dimly lit corridor, he stops and tilts his head towards Krei's shivering form. "Oh and Mr. Krei? I'd keep a closer eye on your employees if I were you."

And with that, he was gone.

Krei felt as though he'd been lying there for hours. That was so close. He was nearly at death's doors just now_. OH GOD! He almost died!_ He breathes heavily and begins to sit up. Just then, he hears a familiar but panicked voice call out his name as the owner of that voice rushes into his office.

Abigail kneels beside him; supporting his back so he could sit up a little bit straighter. "Sir, are you alright? What happened?"

"I- I don't… know…" Krei seemed almost traumatized but he hitched out the basic description of everything that had happened after she had left without too many details.

"Do you know who it was? Did you recognize him?"

Krei shakes his head. "He was wearing a mask…"

"A mask?"

"A fox mask… O-oh god… I almost died!" Krei cried hysterically and clung to Abigail as she fished out her phone and dialled 911.

"Alright, Mr Krei, please stay calm. I'm calling the ambulance right now." _He's going into shock. Where the hell is security!? _

**_Outside the Building-_**

Sirens blared and red and blue lights flashed brightly as the police cars came to a halt in front of Krei Tech Industries, soon to be followed by ambulances.

Honey, Wasabi, GoGo and Fred sat in the car in both silence and fascination as the cops exited their cars and made their way into the tall building.

"This does not look good guys."

"What do you think's going on?"

"Beats me."

"Do you think it's because of Tadashi?"

"Most probably…"

The four teens gave each other knowing looks. "Something's not right about him." GoGo spoke up; crossing her arms over her chest as she rests her back on the upholstery. They avoided talking about it until now so someone had to come out and say it.

"Well, he _is_ kinda strange…" Honey says softly.

"Strange doesn't even_ begin_ to cover it." GoGo rolled her eyes. "You saw his apartment, who the hell lives in a place like that? Not to mention the helicopter kidnapping of his_ supposed_ brother. For all we know, he could be lying about the whole thing." She didn't mind helping out but she also didn't want herself or her friends to get mixed up in whatever trouble Tadashi was in unless it was completely genuine.

"I'm sure Tadashi has his reasons…"

"Sorry, Honey Lemon but I'm with GoGo on this one." Wasabi says; his grip on the steering wheel tightening as he sees people being ushered out of the building in a hurry. "We don't even know anything about this guy."

"We know he loves science!" Fred said with a sudden burst of energy and gave them a broad smile.

"Not helping Freddy." The others deadpanned.

"Look. When he gets back, assuming he even does, we're gonna have to set things straight. I'm not about to help some criminal commit crimes around San Fransokyo."

The others solemnly nod and Honey just looks down at her lap where her fingers fidgeted nervously. She wanted to give Tadashi the benefit of the doubt but her friends were right. They knew next to nothing about him. But she knew one thing for sure. His brother did exist. The love he had for him was real. That strong desire to get him back existed. No one could fake emotions like that. She could see it in his eyes.

Everyone was watching the chaotic scenes play out in front of them so intensely that they hadn't noticed Tadashi sneak up to the passenger side window. He knocked on the glass; making everybody jump.

"When did he even get here?" Wasabi muttered under his breath as he leaned sideways to unlock the door. Tadashi immediately climbed in. He tilted his cap upwards a bit; making it easier for him to scan the area through the window. He wore a grim expression. But other than that he looked pretty normal; making them doubt if he was even the cause of all the panic. His face was completely blank showing no signs of what might have gone on in there. "What happened man? The cops are swarming the place."

"Just drive."

"Are they looking for you?"

"I said drive."

"No. First tell us what's going on." GoGo told him sternly; leaning in a little.

"I'll tell you on the way, alright. We need to get out of here first." Tadashi hisses in irritation.

Wasabi glanced back at his friends. They didn't seem to object so he shifted the gear and began driving; albeit a little doubtful. Once they were miles away from Krei Tech Industries, one of them finally broke the silence.

"Okay, Takachiho. Explanation, now!"

"… He's innocent."

"What?"

"Krei… He doesn't know anything."

"What makes you say that?" Honey asks; leaning forward in her seat.

"Intuition."

No longer being able to stand his cryptic answers, GoGo's anger flared and she began firing a series of questions at him. She was determined to get some answers out of him, _one way or another._ "You better start talking. Tell us what happened back there. Why were there so many cops and ambulances? Did you do something to Alistair Krei? Who exactly are you and what are you after?"

"I'm not obligated to answer any of that." Tadashi glared. He wore the coldest expression he could on his face; hiding the way he really felt about them underneath.

He didn't want them to get mixed up in this mess more than they already have. As much as he hated to admit it, he was actually starting to care for their wellbeing. _'Which is the most ridiculous thing ever'_ he though. After all these years, was he finally growing a heart? All this time, the only person who he ever cared for was Hiro. No one else mattered. The world and all the people in it could perish into oblivion for all he cared. _But now?_ Was he really starting to consider these guys his friends? _No. No way. Stop right there Tadashi._ They aren't your friends… They were just a bunch of nosey nerds. _They aren't my friends… Right?_ Even if he was remotely entertaining the idea of friends then all the more reason to ditch them as soon as possible. They would most definitely be in constant danger for just having met him. _The less they knew the better_\- he kept telling himself. He already felt guilty for involving them in the first place.

"Uh, yes you are. We're the ones helping you, remember? We deserve to know."

"Yeah well, I never asked for your help!" Tadashi snapped at her. "You're the ones who keep insisting on following me around everywhere. You know what? Just drop me off right here. I'll be fine on my own."

"Tadashi wait, don't do this. We're friends now. We just want to get to know you a little better. That's all." When the raven haired boy didn't give her a response, Honey added. "Please… You can trust us."

Tadashi hid his face under his cap. It's not that _he_ didn't trust _them_… It's that _they_ wouldn't trust _him_ if they found out more about him.

_And since when has that ever bothered you? _Asked a voice in his mind. He pushed that thought away quickly. Maybe telling them the truth was for the best. _Yeah! _It could actually work to his advantage. Once they learned who he was, they'd be too afraid to want anything to do with him.

A pang of hurt blossomed in his chest, but he ignored it.

"You sure you want to know?" Tadashi asks without making eye contact with any of them but he could sense them nodding. He blows out a breath- _Alright here goes._

Tadashi pulls out his mask from under his black jacket and holds it up enough so they could all see.

Gasps were heard. "Uhh… Is that what I think it is?" Wasabi's eyes widened just as his friends' had.

Tadashi had expected them to freak out. Had expected them to yell at him or scream in fright. Expected them to slam the breaks and throw him out. Hell, he had expected any kind of an _appropriate_ response to their current situation... _Except this-_

"Holy mother of Megazon! Guys! It's Kitsune! _The _Kitsune! Dude, I am like your biggest fan!" Fred threw his arms up and was literally jumping in his seat. He couldn't believe it! One of the infamous KuroTsume Brothers was actually in the same car as them. This was a dream come true! "Can I have your autograph? Please! Pretty please! With a Marvel coated cherry bomb on top!"

"Uh…" Tadashi just blinked at him with a dumbfounded expression and his mouth hung open. He looked at the others who weren't nearly as shocked as he expected them to be. Honey Lemon was smiling at him. She no doubt found the silly expression on his face hilarious. GoGo was giving him an unimpressed look; as if she'd been expecting something more. Wasabi was the only one who looked a little wary but he seemed keener on the road ahead.

Tadashi pressed himself against the passenger door when Fred got so close to his face that their noses were almost touching. "They say you killed an army of ninja warriors with only a ball point pen. Is that true?!" Fred asked excitedly; giggling in delight.

"Uhh...I- What?"

"Freddy, your freaking him out."

_Understatement_. Tadashi thought as he glanced at the others again. Shouldn't this be going the other way around? _Who are these people? _They were the weirdest bunch of people he'd ever met- _and that was saying something_. How the heck are they not cringing in fear? Or at least more surprised? Never in Tadashi's life has anyone reacted like this. He was prepared for anything. _But this?_ This just threw him over the edge.

"So, you're really Kitsune, huh?" Wasabi asked. He had slowed down the car but hadn't stopped driving. He kept glancing at his passenger every two seconds before returning his gaze back to the road. Making sure he didn't pass any red lights and obeyed the traffic rules diligently.

Tadashi nodded. Fred had scooted back to his seat between the two girls but still remained as excited as ever, sporting the biggest grin he'd ever seen on anyone. The raven haired boy readjusted himself so he was seated more comfortably and shook his head at them. "How are you-... Aren't you afraid?"

"Not really."

"… I don't get it… How come?"

"It's because we know you as Tadashi first."

The answer was so obvious and straightforward that Tadashi almost slapped himself for not thinking of it sooner. Of course they wouldn't cringe in fear. Anyone who met him, knew him as Kitsune; the cold hearted killer. These guys had met him as Tadashi; the friendly next door boy who helped cafe owners in his free time and was extremely enthusiastic towards science. _Why would they be afraid?_ Sure, they might not trust him all that much now but the fact that they were still willing to listen to him meant they didn't completely distrust him either. They had seen him for who he really was back when he visited their University. They had seen him as _Tadashi Hamada. _

Even now, they saw him as Tadashi more than Kitsune.

The others looked at Tadashi as he stared at them. Many thoughts and questions plagued theirs minds. _This guy was Kitsune_. One of the KuroTsume Brothers. The person the cops have been looking for, for years. He was sitting right here in their car. He was under their noses all along; slipping by unnoticed. He was no older than they were. He was a teenager just like them. It was hard to believe that this is the guy everyone was afraid of.

But for some reason, they didn't seem too shocked about it. Sure, there was some initial surprise but then again, it didn't seem all that farfetched now that they thought about it. In fact, it all made more sense now. The super high tech helicopter they saw and the alley carnage and the state of his apartment, it all made perfect sense. It was like the missing pieces of a puzzle were coming together.

_So the brother who was taken must be Neko._ Now the question was, _by who?_ Were the people who took him good guys or bad guys?

_Was Tadashi a good guy? _

"All those stories of you the police keep telling people about, are they true?"

"Some are."

"Have you killed anyone before…?"

There was a small pause. They waited for his answer with bated breath. "Yes I have."

They exchanged concerned gazes. No one had the right to take someone else's life. No matter what the reason was. Maybe it was out of self-defence? Or maybe this guy really was a cold blooded serial killer. But nothing more was said on that topic though. _For now. _

Fred who was jumping in his seat all this time finally couldn't hold himself back anymore. He had dreamt of this day so many times. The day he'd finally be able to meet at least one of the KuroTsume Brothers. He's always wanted to ask Kitsune this one most important question. _Now's his chance_. _Was he a hero or a villain in this story_? "Are you one of the good guys or are you a bad guy?"

Tadashi was taken aback up the blunt question. He didn't know how to answer that. The others switched gazes between the two. He swiped a hand tiredly through his short black hair. "Honesty? I don't know... Whatever I did in the past, I did it to protect my brother. I don't care if it was right or wrong; I did it to keep him safe. To me, that's all that ever matters... And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." His voice held such raw emotions. He's eyes were set hard with determination. Nothing was getting in his way. No one was going to stop him from getting Hiro back.

Nobody said anything after that. Noticing the sudden silence Tadashi cleared his throat and turned his head to face the window. "Look, thanks for the ride n' all. But you can stop the car and let me off here."

Fred chuckled. "You can't get rid of us that easily, dude."

Tadashi's widened eyes snapped back to them. "What?"

"We said we were going to help you. So that's what we're gonna do." Honey smiled and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"But why?" Tadashi still didn't understand it._ Why are they doing this? _How did they still trust him, especially after he told them who he was? He was the notorious Kitsune. He'd killed people. True or not, surely they knew of the many scary stories that circled around him, right? "Why are you going out of your way to help me?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's because we're your friends. And that's what friends do. We'll help you get your brother back."

Tadashi stared at them not knowing how to respond._ Have they lost their minds?_ _Friends?_ _Seriously?_ That was their reason for helping him? He shook his head at their naivety. They were way too trusting. The world was a cruel place with evil people just waiting for an opportunity to devour the innocent. They obviously didn't know the real dangers out there. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. _Was it really okay to let these kids help him? Was it okay to drag them into his dark world? _

His musing was interrupted when GoGo began to ask him more questions. "What were the cops and ambulances doing there? Did you kill Krei?"

"No. Krei's alive. I didn't kill anyone." _Although he might need some therapy sessions after this... _

"So, uh, where are we going?" Wasabi asked. Tadashi had guided him the general direction of their destination but hadn't told him exactly where he wanted to go.

"To SFB."

"What's SFB?" Honey asks.

Fred's eyes instantly light up. "No freaking way! I thought that place was a myth or something. It really exists?"

"Oh, it exists alright." Tadashi growls darkly to himself.

"Yes!" Fred pumps his fists in the air with inexplicable joy; completely oblivious to the shadow that fell over Tadashi's eyes. Both Honey and GoGo pressed themselves against their doors in an attempt to dodge Fred's flying fists. "I can't believe we're going there. This is the best day of my life!"

"Okay, will someone please tell me what these two numskulls are talking about?" GoGo deadpans.

Tadashi gives them an insufferable sigh; rubbing a hand tiredly over his face. He has had enough of questions for one night. They were obviously not getting the hint. Luckily for him though, he didn't have to answer anything this time.

"San Fransokyo BlackTech is the coolest place ever! You get all sorts of awesome merchandise and everything! It's supposed to be the world's largest underworld markets!" Fred went on and on about how cool SFB was while Tadashi stared out the window and watched the rest of the city go about its nightly business; not really paying attention to anything in particular.

Tadashi scoffed at the tales Fred told his friends. He marvelled at how the fanboy could make something so dark sound so cheery. He intervened before they got the wrong picture of the place. "It's not all rainbows and sunshine like you make it out to be. It's a dark and dangerous place filled with the kind of lowlifes you couldn't even begin to imagine. That place is nothing short of hell itself."

GoGo rolled her eyes at the dramatized description. "And you're taking us there because...?"

Tadashi sighed again. There she went asking more questions. "A guy there owes me a favour. He might be able to tell me who took Hiro and why."

Tadashi actually knew two people who could get him the Intel he was looking for. But he'd rather avoid the other guy entirely. Tadashi didn't want anything to do with him even as a last resort. He hoped they wouldn't run into him tonight.

"Well, alright then lead the way, Mr. Kitsune."

* * *

I know I know, not a lot of action in this chapter but I had to get this out of the way. It was really nagging at me for a while now. Hopefully it wasn't too boring? And look! No cliffy! Yay! XD

Oh! Almost forgot. Those of you who are interested, you can check out my prequelish backstory to this one called **KuroTsume Brothers. **Give it a try, its filled with brotherly moments and all-round fluffiness.

**PLEASE REVIEW** and let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9: Impossible Escape

**A.N:** Yay! Guess what guys, I've finally managed to get my swirly twisty life back under control. *throws confetti everywhere* No long boring apologizing ANs this time. Hope you guys will like this chapter. But First!

**A BIG HUGE THANKS TO ALL THE WONDERFUL GUMMYGIRLS (AND BOYS) OUT THERE WHO'VE FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED THIS STORY AS WELL AS MY OTHER ONE! You guys rock!  
****  
_Shout-Outs!_**

**AnimeWolfGirl16****:** Oh yay! I'm super glad you thought so. ^_^ To say I was worried about it is an understatement. XD (::)(::)(::)  
**IamInk****:** IKR! I wish Jellal was part of the main series like Natsu or Grey (I love them too) Hehe. And yes! The search begins… Better strap in, things are going to get a little bumpy. (::)(::)  
**ZebraFinch****:** Thanks for the review! I'm glad you find it interesting ^_^ Here's another cookie. Enjoy (::)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce****:** Aw! Really! Thank you so so much! Your awesome! (Just like your user name) ^_^ Hope you'll like this chapter too! (::)  
**Starlight420****:** Lol, oh he'll get a cookie… eventually. *winks* And about the mistakes, could please please please tell me what they are? So I can fix them? Please! P.M me or leave a review? (::)  
**CookieGuest****:** Oh, I'll be leaving clues like that for you guys throughout my story or even on my one-shots. Lol, I'm glad you liked the chapter. (::)  
**write that wrong****:** Oh thank god, I was really scared about that. I was so freaking hesitant about it. I'm glad you liked it! And as for Hiro's POV… Read on, my friend. (::)  
**Dreya-San****:** AHHH! I'm super glad you liked it! Now I'm the one who feels like dancing in my room… ^o^ And yeah… SFB… not a great place to find yourself in. You'll see why soon. (::)  
**KungfuKittyKat:** YAY! I caught your review for my other story and I'm so glad you like it. I love the brother's relationaship too! So perfect! Hehe, Here's an extra review for the other review as well (::)(::)  
**Purpalz Miner****:** I like to think of cliffs having a love/hate relationship with its readers. XD That's how I feel at least. I want a cliff but at the same time I don't. Lol (::)  
**Justrockzyxxx****:** Well, my curious reader… Here you go! (::) and thank you for the review!**  
****bluemoonluvkpop0596****:** Poor Hiro's not out of commission yet, he's got a long hard journey ahead of him. I'm so happy you liked my story! Here's a cookie! (::)  
**Servo****:** A fan? Oh wow! ^o^ *hugs you* Thank you and here's a cookie! (::)  
**Up-In-the-Clouds1285****:** Gotcha! And so you have wished it, so shall it be. (::) Hope you'll like this chapter.  
**Prettylittleliers****:** And here you go! Enjoy! (::)  
**dragonhiro****:** Lol, first, thank you very much for the cookies *gobbles them up* Yum! Second, ironically, Fred was the hardest to write… Even though I'm exactly like him in real life XD (::)  
**Arya Scarlett 14****:** You my friend get three cookies for three reviews! Thanks you! (::)(::)(::)

And now! What you all have been waiting for... ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Impossible Escape**

Abigail watched as the ambulance took the traumatized CEO away to the nearest hospital. A few security guards were found unconscious in the men's room. The medics took them to the hospital as well, just to make sure they were okay. Krei Tech Industries had shut down for the day and everyone were forced to go home. Every person who was inside the building was checked and ushered out systematically. Many were confused and others were vexed at the inconvenience. Despite the officials' best efforts to keep the crowd organized, there was still chaos around the area. The cops searched each and every floor from the ground up and yet there was no sign of the man in a Kitsune Mask. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

Abigail oversaw it all; from a distance of course. She dared not get in their way. She looked upset over the whole ordeal. She had spoken to the police and told them everything Mr. Krei had described to her without missing out even a single detail. Once the questioning and cross questioning was over, Abigail politely excused herself and turned heel and headed back into the tall building. She still had one more job to do.

_A fox mask, was it? _

She strode with determination towards the monitor room; her posture stiff and her shoulders squared. She used her access card and slipped into the control room. According to protocol, the cops took the day's surveillance taps with them for further investigation. But Abigail still had a copy of all the taps. She walked over to the panel and rewound all the taps and began to watch each one carefully. Her eyes sharply followed each and every detail displayed on the screens.

She sat there for many hours simply watching and observing, trying to find the slightest thing out of place. There was nothing out of the ordinary; just as the police stated. But she was determined to find him. The guy in the mask. She had to make sure it was him_. It was her mission after all._

After hours of eye watering tiredness and constant rewinding of taps, she finally found him. "There!" She exclaimed to the empty room and paused the video then rewound it in super slow motion.

On the lower right corner of the screen was a man, or rather a boy, in a black jacket and a cap that covered majority of his face. She was barely able to catch a glimpse of him. He appeared on screen for less than a second before disappearing again. It was as if he just disappears as soon as he goes out of frame.

A sly smile crept onto Abigail's face. _She found him!_ She hadn't expected him to show up at a place like this so boldly though. She admitted, that was a gutsy move.

She hummed to herself. "Oh, he's good…"

**_Somewhere Miles Away-_**

_"Dammit." _

It has been almost three hours since Hiro had woken up…

And the moment he opened his eyes he knew he was so freaking screwed. He had woken up on a strange white slab in an equally strange white room that was so bright it had taken his eyes a whole ten minutes just to adjust. The room was empty save for the white slab and a plate of questionable food beside it.

No cameras, no windows, no doors…

_No escape…_

His old clothes had been replaced by new ones. That was one of the first things he noticed right after waking up. His black hoodie and shorts were replaced with a white zipped up shirt with white pants that went all the way down to his ankles. The new clothes hung loosely on his thin shoulders. It had thick black strips all along its invisible stitches. He also noticed the white band that was tightly wrapped around his wrist, marked with bold black letters that read: _HT 229B._ It had a barcode of sorts on the other side. He had tried to pry it open but in vain. _It just wouldn't come off._

The second thing he noticed was how _fine_ he felt. His mind traced back to the events that played out before he ended up here. His body didn't hurt anymore. His ribs weren't bruised. No concussion. No pain. His head felt fine… save for the boredom that was killing him. Boredom and border line panic… Even though he wouldn't admit it, Hiro was starting to freak out a little bit.

Hiro's chocolate brown eyes had scanned every inch of the room. He explored the void room listlessly at first. His hands had inspected the wall for any hidden routes but unfortunately, he found nothing.

There were no devices of any kind near him or even in the same proximity as him… Or maybe there was but Hiro couldn't sense it? He had placed his ear against different sections of the wall hoping to hear something that might help him figure this mess out. But again, he had found absolutely nothing.

No one had come to talk to him yet. Not even that crazy woman who captured him or Scar-Face. Hiro was starting to think he wouldn't mind seeing them if it meant getting some answers.

His stomach growled again as his eyes instinctively moved to the food on the glass plate. _No! I can't eat that no matter how hungry I am._ It could be poisoned for all he knew… Tadashi had taught him to be more careful than that. Rule #1: _Never trust anybody…_ Especially not his kidnappers who were planning god knows what.

_Tadashi… _

Hiro's mind drifted to the thoughts of his brother. How long has it been since he was captured? Had Tadashi returned to their apartment yet? Did he know Hiro was missing… _that he was kidnapped?_ Was he tearing through the city trying to find him… _to rescue him?_

_Was he safe?_

_Did the bad guys get him to? _

Hiro hoped not.

A sudden whoosh sound snapped Hiro's mind back to his current situation. He saw a thin line travel from the base of the wall upwards to form a rectangle before merging back to the floor. A square section of the wall disappeared behind another and three shadows stood just beyond it.

One man wearing a dark purple suit stepped forward, his posture radiated confidence and authority. He had his hands clasped behind his back. He had greyed out almost white hair. But the color of his skin is what surprised Hiro though. It had a blueish grey tint to it and his eyes were blood red. It made him look like the Devil himself.

The two other men stood stiffly behind him; one on each side. _Probably his body guards _Hiro thought_._ They were much bigger and more muscular. Almost to the point where it looked like they'd been taking steroids from the day they were born.

Hiro too stood from the slab he had been sitting on. His mind was alert and his body was ready to fight if necessary. But for a long while they didn't do or say anything. The two goons stood with blank stares and empty faces while the man in the middle looked like he was inspecting his new prisoner. His dark eyes travelled up and down Hiro's body sending shivers up the boy's spine.

Hiro felt as though he was being studied under a microscope like some sort of a specimen. He shifted his feet a little, clearly feeling very uncomfortable. He stayed glued to the spot where he stood, allowing them make the first move.

_Study your enemy, Hiro… Know what they're capable of before charging into battle._ His brother's voice reminded him.

After the awkward silence was over the man brought his gaze straight up to meet the young boy's eyes. "You're awake."

"Yeah, I noticed." Hiro scoffed and rolled his eyes. That was a pointless cliché line. _Bad guys these days just couldn't be original, could they? _It was obvious that he was awake. The man spoke as if he hadn't noticed it before now.

The man smiled in amusement. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I wanna punch you in the face." came a quick retort.

The man chuckled this time; not taking the little boy's threat seriously. His voice sounded gravelly and ruff. "You can try."

Hiro grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. The truth was, despite his bravado, he was scared. He was terrified in fact. Everything about this man just screamed sinister. He could feel the malice radiating from the man in waves even though he had a sickly innocent smile plastered on his face. Hiro gulped involuntarily. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"I doubt telling you will matter much." The man snickered. "But if you must know. My name is Jackson Day. It's good to finally meet you, Hiro Hamada."

"Wish I could say the same." Hiro snarled. He had never heard of anyone by that name before. The man obviously knew who he was, which at this point didn't even surprise him anymore. But he still wondered how these people knew who he was to begin with.

"As for what I want, that answer will have to wait. But for now, you could consider yourself to be a very rare yet glorified guinea pig."

Hiro grit his teeth tighter and clenched his fists at his side. His eyes narrowed and his anger seemed to be building... Along with the fear that gripped his heart. No way in hell was he just going to simply stand here and be their little lab rat. No matter how scared he was, he had to do something to escape. His eyes travelled past the men and looked behind them at his only means of escape.

Jackson followed his eyes towards the open door behind him and sneered. "Any attempts you make at escaping are futile. I'd recommend against it, Hiro. The halls here are like mazes and there's no way for you to leave this place unless we _want_ you to leave." After a pause; as if he was reading Hiro's mind, he continued. "If you're wondering why you haven't been able to use your Technopathic powers, it is because this room is wired with an Electromagnetic Pulsator, which apparently nullifies your unique abilities."

"Noticed that too." Hiro mutters and glances at the walls for a split second before returning it to his enemy. He guessed it was something like that. So he had been correct in assuming that there were machines around him, he just wasn't able to manipulate them.

"Right." Jackson clapped his hands. "Now that the introductions are out the way, let's get down to business, shall we?" He jerked his head in Hiro's direction and the two men stepped forward, slowly and menacingly with their hands facing the young Technopath, ready to grab him if he made any funny moves.

Hiro's eyes widen as the two goons approach him_. He was not going down without a fight._ He takes a step back and gets into a fighting stance. Strength was not going to help him win this battle. He had to be smart and rely on his speed and agility.

As soon as the two men get close enough to grab him, Hiro crouches and springs himself backwards onto the slab and jumps forward straight towards one of the men's faces. _Like a cat with its claws out pouncing at its prey._

He lands a quick punch and scrabbles out of the way just before Bouncer man #2 reaches out for him. Unfortunately, he was just a split second too late as the man grabs him by the loose fabric and hurls him at the adjacent wall. Hiro's back hits the wall hard and he slides down to the ground, sporting a grimace. _Guess he hadn't recovered as well as he thought. _He hears Jackson's voice from across the room, but he wasn't the one being addressed.

"Go easy on him, fellas. I don't want him to end up back in recovery. We've wasted enough time as it is."

Hiro's heart was beating a mile a minute but he still manages to catch himself before slumping onto the ground completely. _Back in recovery…? What did he mean by that? Was he in recovery all this time? _That would explain why he was feeling better when he woke up._ How many hours… or even days had he spent there?_ He looks to his right and finds the plate of food sitting there. He quickly snatches it off the floor, dumping all the eatable contents in the process and breaks the porcelain glass plate into sharp pieces using his knee. He uses them like Shurikens and flings it at his enemies.

Some of the sharp edges of the broken glass embed themselves into their skin but much to Hiro's chagrin and disappointment, they don't stop advancing. They hadn't even so much as flinched. Blood began to ooze from their wounds but they still kept coming. Hiro cursed under his breath, he should've aimed for their eyes like Tadashi had taught him. He grits his teeth and dodges sideways and away from their huge grabby hands.

Hiro does this successfully a couple of times but gets unlucky when Bouncer man #1 snags his ankle and lifts him up as if he weighed no more than a feather. _Aw damn, it's Deja-vu all over again_. _What was with people and dangling him upside-down anyway? _Hiro struggles and kicks out with his other leg but the attacks on the stone faced man's face are useless. The man flips him over so that he's holding Hiro's upper arms in a vise grip; his feet dangled several feet off the ground. The grip on his arms tighten and the messy haired kid winces, _ow, those are gonna bruise._ He sees the other man coming closer to them with something in his hand and Hiro's eyes widen. _Oh hell no!_

He begins to struggle more desperately to get away but the man's grip on his arms was too strong. _Think, Hiro, think!_ _Look for a new angle…! That's it! _He quickly collects as much saliva in his mouth as he can and spits right into the man's eyes. The man grunts and reels back. He lets go of the boy instantly to wipe the gross liquid off his face.

Hiro lands on his feet and makes a mad dash towards the exit but the other man catches the back of this shirt and pulls him back before slamming the boy's tiny frame into the hard unforgiving ground. Hiro unintentionally cries out when his head hits the floor; _again_.

_At the rate this was going, he was going to have brain damage for sure. _

Hiro squirms and thrashes and bucks but nothing seemed to work as both men now firmly held him against the floor. His arms were trapped above his head and no amount of twisting was going to free them from the buff hand that held them there. His legs were also trapped under the knee of Bouncer man #1.

Hiro screamed and cussed unintelligent words at the other man who brought the dreaded object close to his face. It was a collar. _A god damn collar!_ They were going to chain him up like a dog! Hiro whipped his head back and forth and wriggled harder to get free but all in vain.

Before he even knew it, the collar was snapped into place with a clicking noise and he was let go. The two goons had backed off. Hiro scrabbled away from them as fast as he could. He could feel tears pricking the corner of his eyes but he willed himself not to cry in front of these people. He felt the cold object around his neck and it felt humiliating. He bared his teeth and growled deep in his throat and launches himself at the man standing at the doorway, smirking. The man who was responsible for this; _Jackson Day. _

The man doesn't move, in fact, he just stands there with amusement playing on his dark features.

Hiro's less than three feet away from him now, but before his mind can register what's happening, searing pain rips throughout his body. He collapses near Jackson's feet and remains there; twitching and jerking. His eyes were squeezed shut, his breath came out in pants, his lungs had for a brief moment forgotten how to function, his arms and legs wouldn't co-operate.

_What the hell just happened? _

He opens his eyes and looks up at the still smirking man. Jackson looked amused now and was holding out a boxy looking device in plain view and finally when he got his brain to work again, it clicked into place. _Electrocution!_ He'd been electrocuted just then. The collar around his neck worked like a teaser. Hiro sucked in much needed oxygen and lifted his trembling right hand up to touch the retched thing on his neck.

The man, Jackson, was saying something to him but Hiro wasn't able to focus enough to process the words completely. The guy was blabbering on about electrodes, the collar and the EMP jamming signals and a whole bunch of other nonsense. He unclenched his jaw and curled his fingers into a fist when he finally was able calm himself down enough to understand the words.

"-cause us trouble. You see, Hiro. We have many methods of persuasion. I don't want to resort to physical violence but if you don't cooperate then… Well, your stay here is going to be very unpleasant."

Hiro shakes his head. He didn't care. He didn't care what the man had to say. He didn't care about the lingering pain his muscles were experiencing. He didn't care that his body hurt so much that he wished he could crawl into a black hole and never come out. All he wanted right now was his brother. He just wanted to go home. _Go back to Tadashi…_ "When my brother gets here… he's gonna _kill _you." Hiro grimaces but still manages to smirk up at the man with the bloodshot eyes.

Jackson raises his eyebrows slightly and gives the boy lying at his feet, a wicked grin. "Well, he'll have to find you first."

"He will." Hiro puts as much conviction behind his words as he possibly could. He grunts as he slowly picks himself off the ground. "And when he does, you're going to wish you never messed with us."

"I'll be right here waiting for him then." Jackson sneered looking at Hiro's defensive stance and eyes filled with loathing directed straight at him. "Well, since you seem up to it, how about we get started, hmm?"

"Started… on what?" Hiro was almost afraid to ask.

"Testing you, of course." Jackson responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Didn't I say you were going to be my very own little guinea pig?"

Jackson glanced at the two men and left the room without another word. Hiro felt hands grab him by his upper arms again. The two men begin to escort him, or rather _drag him_ out the room as they followed their boss. Hiro fought them every step of the way throughout the corridors; yelling, screaming, biting, kicking... His mind raced as they finally passed through a set of double doors and he gasped seeing the equipment in the room.

_Tadashi… Help me!_

* * *

_... _ And that's where I'm ending this chapter. Hope you guys liked it! Sort of a half cliffy XD And oh boy, do I have a surprise for you guys in the next chapter. Whether its a good one or a bad one, I'll let you decide. *winks*

And awww! Poor Hiro! Hang in there, buddy! Tadashi will find you... maybe...

Anyways! Please review and let me know what you guys thought of the update! It's like oil to the machine. Don't let it go rusty :-P

*Fist-Bump*  
Ba-la-la-lalaa!


	10. Chapter 10: Treacherous Tour

**A.N:** Eeeeee! I'm a day late… Well, actually I'm eight days late BUT I GOT IT DONE! That's what counts in the end… _right?_ *nervously chuckles* Anyways, like I mentioned in the previous chapter, this one's going to have a surprise. Whether it's a good surprise or a bad surprise (hopefully it's not) is completely up to you. SO I'll keep my fingers crossed.

_**Bonus:** Did you guys know, Jackson Day is actually a villain called The Corruptor in the Marvel Universe. He battles the original Big Hero 6 gang in the comics. Thought it'd be cool to have him as the bad guy in this story since I hate writing OCs._

Yay! Now for my favorite part…

**Shout-Outs!**

**CookieGuest****:** Haha! Alright! My cookie guest is first this time. You know what that means, (::)(::)(::) And yeah… Tadashi better get there fast.  
**Rosycat****:** Thank you very much! That means a lot! (::)(::)  
**Arya Scarlett 14****:** Hiro's about have his faith tested… So beware… (::) HE NEEDS ALL THE SUPPORT HE CAN GET!  
**ToscaThorCat****: **OMGosh! XD Holy crap! I'm almost the same… Although in my defense, my second time was an accident. I swear I didn't realize the switches were all on. I cried like a baby cause of that ity bitty shock. Hiro must have some will and bravery, huh? (::)  
**PixarFan1****:** Hehe! Welcome to fanfiction my friend. A place that will keep you wanting more and make you laugh and cry and everything in between. (You have been warned) But other than that, thank you very much! I feel honored. Here's a cookie! (::)  
**Tree huger****:** Oh yay! I'm so happy you liked it. And fingers crossed? Hiro must hang in there… (::)  
**Guest:** That's exactly what I'm aiming for. I love the brotherly bond between brothers. It's like you said, so adorable! Ah! I can't get enough. (::)  
**IamInk****:** You'll have to stick around to find out what evil plans they have for Hiro. I can tell you though, it's gonna be… unpleasant. (::)  
**DestinyWing****: **In time, my friend… In looooong time… XD Until then, keep reading and enjoying and have a cookie (::)  
**AnimeWolfGirl16****:** Hehe, a lot of you guys wanted to know and I just couldn't deny it. ^_^ I'm glad you like the update. This one's gonna be a slow one though, hope you don't mind. (::)  
**The Amazing Cat****:** ….. Maybe…..? Uh…. The better question would be, will Tadashi be there to save Hiro **_in time?_** Or will it be too late. I'm sorry for upsetting you! I'll make it up to you soon, I promise. (::)  
**Iron Rose Writer****:** *Hysterically screams with you!* That made me feel like I'm some elite team leader who just showed off her mortal combat skills. Thank you very much! (::)  
**shooting2stars****:** Oh, he'd going to be mad alright… Things are going to get explosive in a few chapters… I assure you. But until then, here's a cookie, and enjoy the update. (::)  
**dragonhiro****:** I left you a review… Not sure if you've read it yet but good job on your story! Please update though! And as for how many more chapter I have no idea, I just make things up as I go along with a loose plot in my head. I'm sorry but I'm totally clueless. Hehe (::)  
**bluemoonluvkpop0596****:** ;-; I'm such a bad person for being so cruel to Hiro. But thank you very much for the review. You're the only one who commented about what Abigail was up to. *winks* Nice… (::)  
**Lizzy****:** Aw really? I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to check out any other BH6 fanfics. I'm really glad you like my story! And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE BOX OF COOKIES! *gobbles them all in one go* Ahhh… That should get me through the month. Hehe (::)(::)(::)  
**Dreamer****:** You my friend brought tears to my eyes! No one has ever said such nice things to me. I mean wow! Your review (even the one for my other fanfic) You made me feel so so special and for that I'm so very very thankful! (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::) This chapter is dedicated to you! So I really hope you enjoy it!  
**Purpalz Miner****:** Lol, I don't think I've ever met another person who was so happy to see Hiro being electrocuted XD You're just as cruel as I am. *grins evilly* (::)  
**narniac4aslan****:** I lOVE CAPS! Thank you very very much! Thank was very sweet of you and also, thank you for the Tumblr follow as well. Hehe (::)(::) (Double cookies)  
**Yuki no yami****:** You had me at Normal(ish) XD Good one! (::)

AND BEFORE I KEEP YOU ANY LONGER, **A BIG BIG BIIIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO FOLLOWED AND FAVORITED THIS STORY AS WELL AS THE OTHER ONE!** I've said it many times before and I'll keep saying it again and again, **YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!**

**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO Dreamer!**

And now, ONWARDS!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Treacherous Tour**

"We're here."

Wasabi slowed the car to a crawl as many large industrial buildings came into view. It was at least ten miles from civilization and the area around it looked deserted.

The four teens peered through the windows of the car at the dingy looking buildings that were poorly lit. "Um dude, there's nothing here." Not even a single person was seen in the dark deserted night. The street lights were dim and the wind was silent.

"You didn't think SFB was going to be out in the open, did you?" Tadashi smirked as he got out of the car. He closed the door behind him but noticed the others exiting the vehicle as well. _Oh no._ _No way._ "You guys are staying here."

"I don't think so." GoGo crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a pointed look.

The determined look on their faces told Tadashi he had no other choice but to take them along. The gang would follow him even if he told them not to and left them here. And as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want to see them get hurt. And that was sure to happen if they went in wandering around without him. They were better off with him than venturing on their own in this dangerous nest filled with predatorial snakes. Tadashi blew out a frustrated breath and shook his head as he pulled out his mask. "Fine. But stick close and cover your faces as best you can."

The others looked at each other and began doing as they were told. Honey pulled off her scarf before wrapping it around her face. GoGo pulled up her yellow hood so that it covered the top half of her face, Wasabi took a pair of sunglasses from the dashboard and put it on while Fred adjusted his beanie so it was obscuring majority of his face.

Tadashi looked at them; partially amused. _That'll have to do_. "Alright, let's go," He said as he wore his Fox mask. They began to follow him when he paused and tilted his head towards them. "And one other thing, don't call me by my real name. In there, it's Kitsune. Same goes for you guys. Don't let anyone know who you are."

They nodded but Kitsune was already making his way into a dark alley. He gestured for them to hurry. It was too dark to see anything and that left them to wonder how Tadashi was even able to navigate in such darkness. Honey tripped multiple times but luckily was able to catch herself before face-planting on the dirty ground. GoGo scowled as she walked, she could tell she was walking on something wet and slimy, she didn't even want to know what it was. _Yuck._ Wasabi had a death grip on Fred's arm, this place was already pitch black and the stupid sunglasses wasn't helping any. Fred on the other hand, was nonchalant as ever. He pretending to be on a mission where he was a super-secret spy agent working in the shadowy darkness to discover hidden clues in enemy territory. He hummed an unfamiliar tune all the way, making up words to sing along with the made-up tune from time to time.

As annoying as it got after a while. No one stopped him.

As they navigated deeper and deeper into the maze like alleyway, one thing made itself very prominent; _the smell_. The faint coppery smell in the air got stronger and stronger until they nearly had to cover their noses to block it out. _It was blood. _No doubt about. _Blood and sweat._ Maybe they should've listened to Tadashi and stayed in the car. "Ew, I feel like we're walking on guts and puke."

"There's a good chance you are." Kitsune said. They couldn't see his face but they were sure he was smirking at them.

A sudden shriek from Wasabi made everyone jump and turn towards him.

"What's wrong?"

"Help! Something's grabbing my leg!" Wasabi screamed as he fell to the ground and was being dragged away. He clawed at the ground and kicked out at whoever held him. Fred, who was closest to him grabbed both his arms and tried pulling him back. Honey and GoGo helped too but because it was so dark they couldn't see whoever was attacking him and could do nothing more than to try to pry Wasabi out of the attacker's grip.

Suddenly the gang heard flesh hitting flesh, thuds and the sounds of grunts and groans and hurried footsteps fading away.

_… and then nothing. _

The night was silent once more as Wasabi scrambled to his feet and huddled close to his friends. He yelped when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "From now on, stick closer."

From then on, the four friends stuck so close to Tadashi that they were practically glued to his back. Soon afterwards, much to everyone's relief, they saw a short building that was colourfully lit and party music echoed from within. Fancy yet weirdly dressed people strutted around. Some glanced their way but paid no particular attention to them.

"We're going to go in there?" Fred asked in awe but Kitsune said nothing as he pushed open the doors and strode inside. As soon as they entered, abruptly, the music got louder and it jarred their eardrums. _Why the hell was the music so damned loud? And why couldn't they hear it from outside? _

_SFB was a mysterious place. _

Kitsune maneuverer through the bustling party crowd with ease and headed straight towards a lady who was busy wiping counters at the far end of the hall. Majority of her face was covered with glitter, neon paint and lipstick. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw the masked teen approaching her. "Ai, Kitsune. Back so soon?"

"Need a little bit of intel. Thought I'd stop by for some supplies while I'm at it." Kitsune answered, taking a quick glance behind him. His friends seemed to be struggling a little with the party crowd, stepping on their feet, tripping and getting pushed and shoved everywhere plus almost getting elbowed in face. _Eesh._ Kitsune almost winced at the sight. Finally they stumbled their way to where he was. He grinned at them and turned his attention back to the woman.

"Ah, so it's business as always. Don't 'cha ever come here to just have some _fun_?" The girl with the dark glittery eyeshadow asks him, biting the corner of her lower lip seductively. Some of her blue hair fell on her face as she leaned over the contour to get closer to him. Her jazzy makeup matched her neon clothes perfectly.

But in Tadashi's opinion, she showed too much skin, just like always. He had once briefly wondered who she was and what she did when she wasn't at SFB. But he never cared enough to ask.

"'Fraid I don't have the time for it, sweetheart." Kitsune clicked his tongue; hiding the disgust he felt inside. _Act nice, Tadashi…_

"You need to loosen up, _Kitty-poo_." She pouted in response before her black eyes falls on the four teens behind him and brightens up once again. They looked young, probably college students. They were strange… well, strange in a _non-SFB_ way. Clearly, they weren't from here and they obviously didn't belong here either. And the way they clung to Kitsune meant they knew him. He must've brought them here. "Ooo, who are these cuties?" She licked her red lips and eyed them from top to toe in way that made them shudder. Even GoGo.

"They're off limits." Was a curt reply.

"You really should let others play with your toys once in a while, Kit... You know what they say about sharing." She told him in a sing-song voice.

"Maybe some other time." Kitsune waved dismissively.

"What's with the fresh blood anyway? I didn't think you were capable of actually sinking to our level... what with all your morals and code of conduct n' all that." Her eyebrows rose and fell quirkily.

"You'd be surprised what I'm capable of." Kitsune smirked. He couldn't let anyone know Honey, Wasabi, GoGo and Fred were his friends. Whoever the others thought they were, as long as it wasn't the truth, was okay with him. Even if it meant his reputation got a little mucky.

"Oh, you're just filled with surprises and mysteries, aren't you? Makes a girl wonder…" She trails off flirtatiously and pauses, then hums. "Alright. Well, try not to break them." She snickers as the newbs exchange confused glances at each other. They had no idea what they were in for._ Poor suckers. _She led them to the back of the building and opened a trap door.

Kitsune climbed in without any hesitation but the others followed behind doubtfully. After hearing the short exchange between Tadashi and the strange woman, they wondered if they really should be trusting Tadashi like the way they did. The trap door closed shut behind them but unlike before the corridors were lit and the tunnels were bright enough to see. "It's not far from here." He tossed over his shoulder as he led them deeper into the concrete corridor.

"What did she mean by fresh blood?" Honey asked, readjusting her scarf.

"Human trafficking."

Gasps echoed through the narrow tunnels. "You mean, they _sell people_ here?"

"It's a black market. They _sell_ everything here."

No one wanted to linger on that disturbing topic any longer.

They walked in silence for about ten minutes before they reached an exit. A big brass door with a heavy lock mechanism stood strongly in front of them. Kitsune heaved a lever up and unbolted the door. He had to use his whole body weight against it but got it to open without too much effort. It slid open slowly after a heavy cluck. They stepped outside and breathed in fresh air. It was starting to feel incredibly suffocating in there. They were happy to be outside again. "So who's this guy who owes you a favour?"

"His name's FrostByte..."

"And people around here return favours?" GoGo lifted an eyebrow at him. Where they were now didn't look all that different from before. The only difference was that it didn't smell as bad and they could actually see where they were going this time. Which means that at least now they'll be able to see who's doing the attacking. Although in a place like this, it was too easy to get jumped and mugged or worse and that was not a comforting thought at all.

"This guy will. I trust him."

"Why?" Obviously, Tadashi didn't trust people so easily. How come he trusted this guy? Especially someone with a SFB background no less. There has to be a reason behind it.

Kitsune didn't answer and they didn't pry any further. Maybe now was not the time.

A few minutes later, as they walked closer to their destination, the temperature around them seemed to keep dropping by ten degrees. Everyone began to shiver as the air got colder and colder with each step forward. "Whoa! It's freezing here." Fred said through his chattering teeth.

"I think I'm starting to get why this guy's called FrostByte." Wasabi said, rubbing his upper arms distractedly. It was so cold now that they were surprised it hadn't started snowing.

_How was this even possible?_ This sudden drop in temperature didn't make sense at all. It was so unnatural. In fact, it should be impossible.

_Yup… SFB truly was a mysterious place._

The four friends kept close to Kitsune as they passed by people with scowls permanently etched in their faces. Some stood by the shadows, silently smoking cigarettes. Some were being loud and obnoxious, clearly drunk, but no one paid them any heed. A rabid looking dog ran past them, chasing something that they couldn't see.

_Why did I ever agree to come here?_ Wasabi was seriously starting to question his sanity as well as his friends'.

They finally reached their destination. Surprisingly, even though they knew nothing about this FrostByte guy, they knew exactly which building he was residing in. Actually, it wasn't all that surprising at all; it didn't take a genius to figure it out. The building they were headed towards was very different from the ones around it. First off, it looked more like a home than anything else, which is more than what could be said about the other establishments around here. The second thing they noticed was all the windows were frosted over. Pretty frost patterns decorated the glass and a thin layer of snow blanketed the roof. The place didn't seem nearly as hostile as they'd expected.

_If anything, it seemed Christmassy…_and so out of place.

Kitsune went up to the house and climbed the few short steps that were covered with ice, careful not to slip on it before knocking on the door.

A few seconds later, a chirpy petite girl answers the door. Her eyes sparkle with recognition. "Kit! Oh! It's so nice to see you again!" Her eyes were an unnatural color, it was a bright glowy purple. Her hair was colored with green, yellow and pink streaks. Her eyelashes were usually long and she wore a rainbow colored dress. She looked too vibrant and cheerful to be living in such a gloomy surrounding.

Kitsune smiled, genuinely happy to see her. "It's good to see you too, Tooth."

Tooth beamed and shifted her attention to the guests shivering behind him. "Oh, and these are…?"

Kitsune looked behind him once and then back at her. It took him only a moment to answer. "My friends."

It took Tooth a second to process the words. She quickly hid her shocked expression and replaced it with a warm smile targeted at the masked teen. _It's about time…_ "Well, any friends of Kit's are more than welcome. C'mon in." She stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.

Kitsune and Tooth walked side by side, whispering in low voices so the others couldn't hear.

"What kind of a name is Tooth?" Wasabi leaned towards Honey and the others and whispered.

Then again, he was the one to talk. _Wasabi, GoGo, Honey Lemon?_ Just when they thought names couldn't get any weirder. But it seemed his whispering wasn't low enough because the strange chirpy girl answered his question with a chuckle.

"I know it sounds strange. Tooth, short for Toothiana. It's what I've always gone by." She giggles at Wasabi's blushing face who looked embarrassed for having been caught.

"You guys should fit in just fine." Kitsune smirked. Figures, all the people he was friendly with had the weirdest names in the world.

Just then, something zipped by Honey's ear so fast that she could only make out a flash of color and a squeak. She was so startled that she collided into his friends, nearly sending them all crashing to the ground.

"Whoa! What the heck was that?" Fred asked excitedly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that." Tooth hurriedly caught the flying object in her hands; using both her palm to enclose it when it zipped towards her. "I'm still working out the kinks."

"Kinks of what?"

"My mini-bots." She said as slowly uncovered her tiny hands to reveal a small little robot sitting on the palm of her hand. It was brightly colored, just like Tooth was. It had big bulgy purple eyes and a long pointy nose. It had a transparent set of wings to go along with its metallic feathery tail. If it had to be described in one word… That would be- _Hummingbird. _

The little robot resembled a hummingbird.

"You made _that_?" Honey asked in awe. She'd never seen a more adorable looking robot ever. It chirped and cocked its head at them and began hopped on Tooth's hand. Honey resisted the urge to squeal in delight and pull out her phone to take a picture of it.

"Yup. She's just a prototype though." Tooth said bashfully, letting the little robot take off and disappear into the next room. Just when Kitsune was about to say something, a voice called out from behind him.

"Yo,Tadashi! Long-time no see, huh?"

* * *

Okay, first, before you guys say anything... THIS STORY IS** NOT** A CROSSOVER! Any characters that you may recognize are just making cameos. Nothing more. They're just here to move the plot along because like I said before, I hate writing OCs.

I think many of (If not all) of you have already found out whose voice that belonged to *winks* Hope this chapter didn't bore you too much.

**PLEASE REVIEW** and let me know your thoughts on this chapter. I'd really love some feedback.

Until next time guys!  
*Fist-Bump*  
Ba-la-la-lala!


	11. Chapter 11: Frosted Guidance

**A.N:** Hi guys! Been a while, huh? I don't know what to say. I apologies for my tardiness. You guys deserve better. I'm sorry, I've been really overwhelmed lately. My close relative passed away and my family and I had to travel three states over for the funeral. So I missed a lot of school too and catching up is really hard and exams are coming up. Also pretty much had the worst Bday ever. BUT! I wouldn't have made it this far if I hadn't gone back and read your wonderful heart-warming reviews. Like seriously! I can't thank you enough! You guys are really awesome! And I love each and every one of you! Thank you all for being so patient and sticking with my story. It truly truly means the world to me.

I'll be doing the shout-outs at the end of this chapter cause it may contain some spoilers for this chapter. I don't wanna ruin anyone's reading experience.

**This chapter is dedicated to ****Starlight420****!**

**THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME AND AMAZING AND JUST... YOU GUYS ROOOOOCK! I LOVE YOU!**

And now, for the update… **ENJOY** guy! Hope you like it!

* * *

**Chapter 11: Frosted Guidance**

"Yo, Tadashi! Long-time no see, huh?"

"No kidding." Tadashi grins before turning around and gazing upwards to spot the owner of the voice balancing himself skillfully on one of the high beans belonging to the rafters. He watched as the pale teen parkour'd his way down to base level. Tadashi tipped his head towards him. "I see you haven't broken your neck yet."

"I'm too talented for that." The teen smirked back as he landed on the ground gracefully and walked over to them. The others looked at him like he was some sort of a mystical creature conjured right out of a fairy tale. The guy was almost as tall as Tadashi but not nearly buff enough. In fact, he was so thin that it seemed a simple gust of wind could knock him over. He held a stick that looked very similar to a shepherd's crook. His staff left a trial of frost in its wake. His skin was ghostly pale and his eyes were as blue as ice crystals, sparkling with wonder and mischief. Frost patterns decorated his blue hoodie. He wore faded brown jeans that were torn in all the right places. But the feature that captured their attention the most was his hair. He had snow white hair; almost silver even. It stuck out messily in odd angles… but somehow that only added to his charming appearance.

_In short, the kid looked like he was the sole embodiment of winter. _

"And you guys are...?" The pale teen cocked his head to the side and gestured to the newcomers. It was rare for him to have visitors he didn't know about. The four of them seemed to be shivering, keeping their arms wrapped tightly around their torsos; occasionally rubbing them together to get more friction for warmth. It was probably due to the low temperatures inside the house. Most people thought it was a fault but not him, _nope_, he thought of it as a feature. And so did Tooth.

"They're Tadashi's friends!" Tooth said cheerily before the masked teen or anyone else could answer. She emphasized on the _'friends'_ bit and winked at the Hamada brother.

"Whoa, I never thought I'd live to see the day." The pale teen smirked, leaning heavily on his staff. He always had his ice-staff with him. He never let it out of his sight. It was the most useful tech he'd ever come across. It could convert the moisture in the air around it to ice. Brilliant if one were to create ice shards or a barrier or any other sort of weapons. It could be used for both offence as well as defence and that made it the perfect weapon for someone like him. He stretched his free hand towards the SFIT students. "My name is Jack Frost."

"Wait, _Jack Frost?_ Like as in the winter spirit Jack Frost?" Fred's eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree.

"Not exactly. But close enough I guess." Jack laughed. Manny, _his late guardian,_ had given him that name seeing as how well it suited him. "But people around here know me by FrostByte, just keep that in mind." Jack said with a crooked smile and tapped his temple.

They nodded, and then one by one began to introduce themselves to Jack. After Tadashi had given them the A-Okay, of course. _Wouldn't want them to reveal their real names to untrustworthy folks, now would they?_

"So, Tadashi, what brings you here? Keeping that little brother of yours outta trouble?" Jack asked, hopping onto the blue sloppy staircase railing before settling on top of it; one leg dangling back and forth.

"Actually that's why I'm here… I need your help." Tadashi then proceeds to tell Jack everything that happened from the day before; making sure not to leave out even a single detail.

It seemed like a lifetime ago... watching Hiro sitting by the tilted table and working on his most prized invention.

Hiro giving him that goofy know-it-all grin whenever his paranoia gets the better of him.

Hiro parading around San Fransokyo with him; laughing as the wind blew threw his messy black hair.

He missed their brotherly banter.

He missed his baby brother.

_Hiro... You better be okay, kiddo. _

"Damn," Jack breaths as Tooth watches with sympathy and concern. Her tiny Tooth bot sat perched on her right shoulder.

Jack shook is his head in remorse. It was like deja-vu but in reverse. The same thing had happened to his little sister a few years ago but with Tadashi's help, he was able to get her back. Now she was safe and sound and he owed it all to Tadashi_. From one big brother to another_, Jack swore on Manny's grave that he'd help the older Hamada in whatever way he could to get his kid brother back. "I'm sorry abou-"

"Don't." Tadashi sharply interrupts him. "Hiro's fine. I'm getting him back. The ones who should be sorry are the bastards who took him." He growled.

He felt Honey's hand on his shoulder. He glanced back at his four new friends. They gave him reassuring smiles. The message was pretty darn clear. And this time, he didn't just shrug it away.

"No arguments there." Jack chuckles; playfully raising his arms in mock surrender. He had no doubt in his mind that Tadashi would make whoever took his little brother pay dearly; probably with their lives.

He couldn't blame him; especially if Hiro was hurt. Hell, he had pretty much done the same thing in the past; specifically for three reasons. _One,_ so they would never be able to come back for his sister and _two,_ to quench his own thirst for vengeance and lastly to make an example of them. No one would dare come near his little sister again.

_Love and fear were two very different, very dangerous emotions_. It can make a man do just about anything. _Crazy, scary things…_

So it seemed history was repeating itself. "Let me guess? You want me to snoop around and find out if there's any buzz about this floating around." Jack asked. But it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Tadashi nods. "I'll be coming with you. It'll be faster that way." He left no room for arguments and that was that.

"Fine by me," Jack shrugs and hops down from where he was perched on the railing. He and Tadashi were half way out the door when a voice stopped them.

"Hey man, what about us?" Wasabi asked.

Tadashi gave them a '_isn't it obvious_' look. "You're staying here."

Jack's frozen home was one of the safest places in SFB. It was one of the few safe houses that he knew of and could trust. No one would dare try anything to harm to them here. Even if someone dared to attack them, he was sure Tooth and her mini-bots were more than capable of protecting them. It was the best place for the SFT students to stay until he returned.

GoGo though didn't seem to agree. She was getting pissed at his attitude of always leaving them behind. _They were here to help, dammit!_ She didn't like feeling so useless and having to just sit around and no nothing. They'd only been following him up until now, she wanted some action. She wanted to be a part of this fight too. She was sure the others felt the same way. "Is this going to become a regular thing with you?" She deadpans, also sending a glare his way.

"If there's danger involved, then yes." Tadashi says curtly; adjusting the Kitsune mask on his face. He'll be too distracted in finding Intel about Hiro to keep an eye on all of them at all times. _No, it was far too risky. _

They had barely lasted their trip to Jack's home. Never mind to SFB's core. They wouldn't last even a minute if he took them any deeper into SFB where the real darkness resided. He and Jack were going to have to be stealthy, cunning, brutal and lethal if they were going to get the Intel they needed. Tadashi also didn't want his friends to witness _that _side of him. _The darker side… The wrong side… _

The side that made him wonder if he was still even _Tadashi _anymore…

He would never admit it to anyone but having his new friends here with him, supporting him, waiting for him to return with his brother… It kept him grounded. It kept him focused on what's important. On what truly mattered.

That annoying feeling inside his heart grew a little more. Shined a little brighter. It both irritated and comforted him at the same time.

He and Jack were already out the back door before anyone could stop them.

_Just hang in there a little while longer, bud. Big brother's on his way. _

_**Miles and Miles Away-**_

"Tadashi?!" Hiro called out, turning in circles. He was lost, he was alone and he was scared. "Tadashi! Where are you?!"

Hiro was in a room. A gigantic room that was so big he wasn't sure if it ever even ended. He couldn't see any walls; it just seemed to stretch on forever.

This strange wide open place wasn't empty though… It was filled with all sorts of neat looking tech. If Hiro wasn't so busy panicking and searching for his brother, he would've stopped to marvel at it all. The sweet tech was everywhere and it reached far beyond what Hiro could see.

He didn't know how he had ended up here_. Had he come here on his own? Had Tadashi brought him here? Had someone else?_ He dug through his brain for answers that it refused to provide. It was like someone had locked away his memories and thrown away the key.

But he knew one thing for sure though, and it was that Tadashi wasn't with him. They'd gotten separated somehow. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember how it had happened.

_He couldn't remember a darn thing! _

Well, save for the never ending room and limitless Tech, Hiro was also bewildered by another thing.

_The people… _

Millions of people filled the room, all bustling about in some sort of a crazed frenzy that Hiro didn't understand.

The people around him were all different. Different heights, different weights, different skin tones, different body structures and yet Hiro couldn't make out a single unique thing about them. Some of them wore dark ruggedly clothing that was torn around the hems from extensive use; they also wore color coded bandanas around various parts of their limbs while the other set of people wore pristine white coats that went down to their knees, all neatly bottomed up.

The two sets seemed like they were from two different worlds. Worlds that would never be understood by the other. Worlds that would lead to chaos if they ever collided. The people all dashed about aimlessly. This made it even more difficult for Hiro to find his brother. It was nearly impossible height wasn't doing him any favors either.

What was even more disturbing was that these people had _no faces._ No eyes, no nose, no mouth and yet he could hear them whispering. But what or how they whispered was completely lost on him. There were too many voices to make any sense of it that Hiro had stopped trying ages ago.

_Where did all these people come from? _

_Who were they? _

_This isn't right... Something was definitely wrong here. Very very wrong. _

He pushed through the crowd; sometimes even crawled; yelling his brother's name repeatedly hoping for a reply. But no matter how hard he tried he could never find his brother. Tears began to blur his vision as he hastily rubbed them away. _Don't lose hope, Hiro. _

_Tadashi would find him… Tadashi always found him. _

Though something told him, if he didn't find Tadashi _soon_ then it would be too late. Too late because something bad was coming… _Something evil… _

Despite the lingering feeling of dread, Hiro couldn't stop looking, if anything, it only spurred him to look more... Tadashi would never ever give up on him. So he wouldn't give up on his brother either. Tadashi must be looking for him too. They'd surely find each other. _They had to!_

_They were brothers after all. _

But all of a sudden, everything came to a screeching halt that it took Hiro a moment to comprehend what was happening. The faceless people around him stopped whispering, stopped walking, and stopped moving. It was as if someone pressed the pause button on them all.

Hiro stood still and silent too. But it was by choice. He feared that any movement he made would trigger something terrible. He even held his breath.

But in the end... The trigger wasn't him. It was the voice of the person he longed to hear from all this time.

"HIRO!"

Hiro swirled around and saw him. _His brother_. Tadashi was standing only a few feet away. He looked completely fine. The relief on Hiro's face was clearly evident. He'd finally found him. A smile began to play on the younger Hamada's face.

But that's when all hell broke loose.

The nameless people who were completely frozen a moment ago abruptly started screaming and running. They ran in all directions, disorienting Hiro who tried his best to keep track of his stationary brother.

Though it was a stampede, Tadashi stood passively. He stood like a statue in the middle of the orange that burned red.

_Fire... _

Everything around him was on fire. The air, the tech, the people. Except Tadashi who stood in the middle of it all.

"Tadashi!" Hiro yelled on top of his lungs. He coughed as the air suffocated him. Despite all the chaos and disarray around him, he tried his hardest to reach his brother who still hadn't made a move towards him yet. But Hiro was too to be surprised. He had only one thing on his mind. _Get to Tadashi! Get to Tadashi. Safe. Home. Tadashi… _

The swarms of people were crashing into Hiro like tidal waves, forcing him farther and farther away from his brother. He desperately stretched his open palm towards his older sibling. "Tadashi!"

He yelled for his brother over and over again. But the latter still didn't budge. He stood, now nothing more than a silhouette in front of a wall of roaring hell fire. Shadows danced on his face, hiding his stony features.

Suddenly, the endless room seemed too small for Hiro. The people had disappeared and now, it was just him and his big brother… and the fire. He didn't question it, he just blindly ran towards his only remaining family. _Tadashi's in trouble! I have to save him! I have to protect him!_

Hiro shut his eyes and ears as the tech around them began to explode like bombs. He didn't stop running even as the whole place shook and debris fell from above.

Finally, he had done it. Without any more obstacles Hiro quickly ran to his brother, colliding into him with a fierce hug.

"Dashi…" Hiro whispered, holding tightly onto his sibling afraid that he might vanish if he let go but still Tadashi stood still. He said nothing. He didn't return the comforting gesture. "Tadashi...?" Hiro lifted his head to meet his brother's gaze but it was empty and vacant…

… _It scared him to death. _

Before he could question him, the fire roared and raged even further and the huge flaming tech around them started to tip and fall towards them.

Realizing that they both would be crushed in an instant if he didn't do something, Hiro used every ounce of his Technopathic powers to push the metallic objects away with a wail of terror.

"**CRRRRAAAASSSHHHHH!" **

Hiro thrashed about on the exam table that he was strapped to. They had bound him to the flat surface by his wrists, his ankles, his knees, his waist and his torso; allowing him a very minimal amount of movement. The machines around him started to malfunction as sparks flew everywhere. The doctors covered their heads in shock and ducked at the sudden attack and inched their way away from the boy seizing on the table. They watched stunned as the machines flew away from their subject. Monitors began to scream alerts as the room blinked red warnings.

Watching these events play out in front of them from the observation room above were two people. One of them was Jackson and the other was his personal assistant, the woman who had helped capture the little Hamada brother in the first place.

"Sir?"

"Hmm...?" a distracted response.

"Maybe we should stop for today." She stole a glance at her boss who pretended like he hadn't heard her. She cleared her throat and continued. "You are going to break his mind if you continue. The kid needs rest... _His mind_ needs rest..." _We've already pushed him past his limits…_

Still nothing.

"Sir… We're killing him..." the woman whispered as she saw blood tickle down poor Hiro's ears and nose.

Her fingers curled around her clipboard as she hugged it closer to her chest. She couldn't watch this. She couldn't watch them torture some poor innocent child. He hadn't done anything to receive such harsh punishments. These experiments were just plain cruel. She felt applauded at herself for helping them, for being an active member of this heartless project but she had no choice. She felt sorry for the young Hamada, wishing she could do something for him. She swallowed and tried again. "Sir, if subject HT 229B continues this hazardous behavior, we might lose the valuable data we have on him. We'll be left with corrupted data."

Finally, that got her the response she was hoping for. You can count on Jackson Day to only care about his own benefits, screw everything and everyone around him as long as he got what he wanted.

"Alright. That's enough." Jackson's voice boomed in the Examination Room through the loud speakers; making the brunette beside him sigh in relief. "Take him back to Recovery. I want him back here to resume the tests before dawn." He says and walks away.

The woman watches him retreat back to his office, silently wishing she could stab him in the back before returning her attention to the Exam Room.

Inside, the doctors looked at each other, silently debating on whether or not it was safe to approach the dangerous kid yet. Finally, one of the braver doctors to Hiro's right began to step forward carefully with a filled syringe in his hand. It was filled with some yellowish green liquid. Once he was close enough, he jabbed the needle into the Technopath's arm and pushed the plunger all the way down. He watched as the liquid emptied into the little boy's vein.

And as abruptly as it started, it ended and all was peaceful once more. The monitors had stopped wailing, the machines had powered down and the room had stopped blinking showing the warning sign.

The boy had stopped seizing but the blood continued to flow from his nose. They hastily stanched the blood flow and replaced the swabs with an oxygen mask.

They quickly transferred Hiro to a gurney, none too gently, before strapping him down and wheeling him away to recovery.

Abigail watched him go, sending her own prayers to the heavens above. "Oh Lord, forgive me…"

* * *

That's it for this chapter. Hehe... And now finally, to my favorite part!

**Shout-Outs!  
**  
**DuskMuse711:** Lol, you and me both! I love him so much! (::)(::)(::)  
**narniac4aslan:** Well, here are some more cookies for you (::)(::) and yup, both ROTG characters are gonna enjoy their little visit to the BH6 fandom, I can assure you.  
**Guest1:** *Laughs maniacally with you* Yes, hell on earth indeed. And I'm super glad you didn't find it boring. And yay! JF is my favorite too. (::)  
**Starlight420:** Eeee *smiley* Thank you very much for correcting me. And nah, you weren't rude at all. And as for the tenses, as you can see, I paid 0 attention in English class. I struggle with it a lot. I'm working on it though. Hopefully I'm getting better? (::)(::)  
**CookieGuest:** Yay! My cookie guest! Welcome! This chapter must've answered your question, yes? ^_^(::)  
**Iron Rose Writer:** I sure hope so! Thank you! (::)  
**Rosycat:** Aww, I'm so happy I was able to make someone's day! ^_^ I'm glad you liked the cameos. (::)  
**The Amazing Cat:** *smiles broadly!* SFB is pretty creepy XD Ah, I'm sorry for the late late update. I'm so incredibly grateful to you for sticking with me. (::) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it was worth the wait?  
**Dreamer:** You really are awesome, you know that? ^_^ You give me way more credit than I deserve. Really, I wouldn't mind sacrificing all my cookies for you. Your review never ever fails to make my day. I'll never ever leave you guys with no escape. EVER! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you again! You're a really great motivator. ^_^ I got both your reviews btw, thank you for making time for my story and taking the time to review. I feel very honored ^_^ (::)(::)(::)  
**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Hehe, most of you guys figured it out pretty easily, huh? I'm super happy you didn't find it boring. This chapter wasn't either? *fingers crossed*(::)  
**dragonhiro:** Oh, coolness. Who are you gonna cosplay as? I'm really curious! (::)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** XD I see you are as excited as I am for this chapter. Hope I did it justice. And I really hope you liked it. (::)  
**Shiro-Sensei:** YAY! Thank you! *grins like an idiot* :3 (::)  
**shooting2stars:** Hehe, the things I put them through, huh? Gosh, I'm a bad person. Poor Wasabi indeed. And I'm hoping for Hiro's rescue soon too… This chapter must tell you why… He doesn't look like he's about to last much longer.  
**bluemoonluvkpop0596:** *blushes* Oh, stop it you. ^o^ I LOVE ROTG too! It is MY. LIFE! (Including BH6 and SPN) I can't get enough of them. I'm happy you liked my updates as well as my cookies! Here's more! (::)  
**IamInk:** Haha, yes he is. And nah, you weren't the only one who didn't get it. Don't feel bad. ^_^ Hopefully this was a surprise? What did you think of the cameo? (::)  
**Purpalz Miner:** Lol, You do now though, right. Hehe. Were you surprised by who it was? (::)  
**GGCharms:** That's what I always say. XD I'm glad you agree and thank you! (::)  
**Fangirl-lolanice:** Awww! I'm gonna have to make special room for your wonderful gift. Thank you! Even five cookies per day is gonna keep me munching on more for many more days to come. Hehe. And you're welcome! Hope you Enjoyed the chapter! (::)  
**Servo Unomi:** AWWWW! KITTTTTYYYY! *picks you up and squishes you to death* Hehe! Sorry about that… I get carried away sometimes. And worry not, my kawaii kitty, I'll never ever abandon this fanfic. As long as people wanna read it, I shall write it. (::)  
**Guest2:** Wow, you have the most perfect timing of all time. I was just finishing up with the shout outs and voilà I see you've reviewed like 8mins ago. XD Wow! This is awesome. I hope you enjoyed the update. ^_^

Once again, I'd love to thank each and every one of you. *HUGS YOU ALL TIGHT*  
Please continue to review and tell me what you guys thought of the update. ^_^

Until next time, Gummygirls!  
*Fist-Bump*  
Ba-la-la-lala!


	12. Chapter 12: Classified Secrets

**A.N:** Hi guys! I'm back with another chapter for you. It was hard to squeeze in time for this on. The good news is that the first part of my examinations is over. The bad news is that my finals start tomorrow. So a little heads up, I won't be able to update until the end of next month. So sorry about this. Life… What are you gonna do, am I right? Please bear with me! *bows in apology*

_**Shout-Outs!**_

**narniac4aslan:** Lol, who doesn't? XD Jack's pretty darn awesome! And yeah… Abigail… What the heck is she thinking? (::)(::)(::)  
**Guest1:** Then I'm cruel for writing this… But we've already established how evil we gummygirls are, haven't we? (::)(::)  
**Guest2:** Yay! I'm so glad you liked it. And I'm truly happy for doing it right. Thank you very much taking the time to review! (::)  
**Dreamer:** *hugs back* Your review always warms my heart! Like, no words I say will be enough to convey how much I appreciate your kind words. *hugs you again* You put so much time and thought into my story that it really makes writing it really worthwhile and a lot more fun. I often find myself waiting for your review *scratches back of neck nervously* And as for not being a harsh critic, it'll be hard to do but I'll try not to put myself down anymore. Deal! ^_^ (::)(::)(::)  
**Rosycat:** Lol, We're so evil, we'd give Lucifer himself a run for his money XD I'm super glad you liked the update! (::)  
**AnimeWolfGirl16:** As always, thank you so much for understanding! I'm always super anxious about my update cause I fear it will turn out to be boring, but I'm happy that's not the case last time. And hopefully this time as well. (::)  
**shooting2stars:** Yes, you can be sure that all bets will be off when the time comes… (::)  
**Guest3:** *fingers crossed* Abigail better help him or I can surely imagine a whole horde of gummygirls chasing after her with pitchforks. XD (::)(::)  
**yurithefurry:** Awww… You took the effort to review even when you were tired! Gosh! Here's some milk and cookies to get your energy up! And thank you so much! Yay! I'm incredibly happy you like it so much! And I've already published a one shot. It's called KuroTsume Brothers. And I'm thinking of turning into a series of one-shots soon. ^_^ Hope you'll like that one too! (::)  
**IamInk:** *throws away umbrella and gobbles as much as I can* Haha. And *LE GASP* You haven't seen Rise of the Guardians yet!? Holy freaking shit! You, my friend, need to drop everything and go watch it. ITS AMZING AND SUPER AWESOME AND JACK IS JUST THE MOST COOLEST EVERRRR! *points at you and whispers threateningly* Watch. It. (::)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** Nope, I really really couldn't XD You'll more in this chapter as well. XD And as for Abigial… ugh, I have no excuses. She better explain herself huh? (::)  
**Guest4:** Hehe, I get cha *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* But you'll have to wait and find out. And thank you so so much for the support! *hugs back* And here you go, an update, fresh out of the oven. Hehe. (::)  
**The Amazing Cat:** Ah! I'm really sorry. I'm not a stranger to blood, you see. Spent majority of my life in a hospital but I didn't mean to make anyone cringe. Very sorry. Should I start putting up warnings for that sorta thing next time? (::)  
**Starlight420:** Hehe, Nah, I promise you didn't pressure me into the dedication. Where would the specialness in that be? I dedicated it to you cause you were very helpful. And I humbly accept any sort of criticism and mistake correction. It helps me improve. So thank you! I went back and fixed them! ^_^ (::)  
**dragonhiro:** Oh, I guess Toothless. But awesome! Astrid is awesome as hell too! Good luck with the costume making, Hope you have a great time and have loads of fun! (::)  
**Lizzy**: That's a pretty loooong line XD Damn that Jackson! Hehe, I'm glad you liked the cameos! (::)  
**Servo645:** OF COURSE! *dashes to fridge and grabs a milk carton* Here you go. Loads of milk and cookies. *sets bowl beside me* Good kitty! *scratches behind ear* Thank you so much for liking that chapter. Hope you'll enjoy this one as well. (::)  
**Purpalz Miner:** Patience, grasshopper. XD You shall find out soon. Wait… O_O Abigail is a cliché? (::)

AND **A BIG BIG WARM HUG TO ALL YOU AWESOME PEOPLE WHO'VE FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED!** I'M INVENTING A NEW WORD FOR YOU GUYS. IT'S **FANCREDIBLE!** That's what you guys are! ^o^

And now, onto the story! **Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Classified Secrets**

"So you see, when you get right down to it, it's pretty basic stuff." Tooth explained as she held the different sections of Baby Tooth in her hands as if it was one of those assembling toys kids played with.

The gang had huddled close around her to watch her expertly take apart and put back together her mini bot. It was like magic. They awed at how fast and good she was at it, as if she'd done it a million times and then some. _Heck,_ _she probably had_.

It had been a few hours since Tadashi and Jack had left on their Intel gathering recon mission. They had tried to sneak out in search of them which was probably a stupid decision but soon learnt that Tooth could be very very terrifying and intimidating when she wanted to be.

So then they had time to kill and Tooth was more than delighted to explain the mechanics and robotics that had gone into creating the small robot. Her delicate hands worked efficiently and for a moment it almost looked like she was metal bending.

"That's amazing." Wasabi was thoroughly impressed by how organized Tooth was. Such precision. Everything in perfect order. So systematic. _Ah! Beautiful!_

"Agreed." GoGo nodded, smiling for the first time since she arrived here. Anyone who could move as fast as Tooth had definitely earned her respect. She briefly wondered if Tooth would like to race with her sometime. It was only natural for someone with such fast hands to be fast in other aspects too.

Honey too was impressed, but more by Tooth's gentle nature towards her little creation rather than the actual robot itself. She marvelled at how the perky girl treated it like as if it was her own child; even while dissembling it.

Fred, well, just when he thought the day (or night) couldn't get any better, Tooth had volunteered to show them how her mini robot worked. His mouth hung open through the whole thing. He didn't understand much but she seemed like such a great inventor. She knew exactly what she was doing and it made him think she too, like Tadashi, would consider joining SFIT.

"Someday soon, I'm thinking of making at least a thousand of these," Tooth said as Baby Tooth came alive in her hand again. _Start with a thousand then go for a million, _Jack had said and it had been her dream ever since then. She smiled at her little robot as it hopped on her hand a couple of times before flying away. When she first made it, she didn't know what to call the little thing. Jack was the one who named it. He said that '_Baby Tooth'_ was perfect since it resembled Tooth in so many many ways.

"Wow, that's a lot of mini bots." Wasabi chuckled.

"I know right! They can help by running little errands for me and Jack when we're busy." Tooth shrugged.

"Toothiana, can I ask you something." Honey said, fidgeting with the loose strings of her scarf.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"How does Tadashi know you?" She asked; wincing at how blunt it came out sounding. She could sense her friends looking at her from the corner of her eye but kept her main focus on Tooth. _Too late to take it back now_. "I mean, he doesn't seem to trust anyone… But he doesn't seem to mind you or Jack." _He always has his guard up. He's built up so many walls._ There must be a solid reason why Tadashi trusts these strange people. "I was just wondering…"

"Well, Tadashi and Jack met a long time ago." Tooth's smile faltered a bit, though she did her best to hide her discomfort. "It was long before I even knew Jack… or Emma. From what I heard Tadashi had helped Jack get his little sister back from some really bad men…" _Evil men with terrible intentions…_ Tooth shivered, recalling the gruesome tale Jack had told her.

"So what happened?" GoGo asked.

"I'm sorry…" Tooth said; her eyes cast down. "But it's not my story to tell. You'll have to ask either Jack or Tadashi themselves."

Before any of the others could say anything more, the sound of a door opening and squeaking closed was heard making Tooth sigh in relief. "They're back." She chirped and surely enough two figures walked down from the second floor a few seconds later.

"How many secret mystical doors does this place have?!" Wasabi said; throwing his hands in the air. His voice sounded high pitched and laced with astonishment.

Tooth just chuckled. _Oh, if you only knew… _

The relatively warmer air from the outside accompanied Tadashi and Jack inside. It reminded them once again how cold it was inside. Good thing Tooth had given them some thicker clothing to wrap themselves with, or they would've pretty much frozen to death by now.

"How'd it go? Did you find anything?" GoGo asked as Tadashi removed his Kitsune mask and reached the bottom of the stairs followed closely by Jack. The grim look on his face had given her a pretty good idea though.

"Tadashi?" Honey asked with concern. His silence was worrying her. Had something gone wrong with the investigation? Had he found out something bad about his little brother? He had his hands stuffed deep into his pockets, as if he was hiding something.

Tadashi sighed but Jack was the one who spoke first. "We didn't find much. Everyone seemed pretty hushed up about it."

"So you didn't find anything?" Tooth asked, walking closer to stand next to Jack. "Anything at all?"

"We did find something…" Jack let the sentence drift, letting Tadashi take over. They had split up soon after they left the base; each carrying out his own separate search.

"I know who the gauntlet we found belonged to." Tadashi said. His voice sounded tired. Heck, he _looked_ tired. He looked ready to collapse in fact. But it was obvious he was fighting the urge to do so. It would be so easy to just give in and sleep. _But would he be able to sleep though?_ With the constant flow of horror filled scenes playing in his mind like a movie about the tortures his baby brother was going through at this very moment? _Yeah, right…_ Tadashi was sure if he didn't find Hiro soon, he'd lose his sanity altogether.

"Who is it?"

"A guy named Dexter Stulman. He goes by the name Hornet." Tadashi said. It had taken him a lot of back alley gang pounding just to get the damn name. Between dealing with those rabid hustlers, the redundant bouncers and the drug dealers, gosh, it was just too damn taxing. But the dry blood on his knuckles was well worth it. Tadashi could at least take out all of his frustrations on them. _His anger, his guilt, his sorrow… Everything._ He didn't even hold back like he normally would. Some of those guys back in the alley are probably dead and he hadn't even batted an eyelash as he left them there struggling to hold onto dear life.

He didn't care.

_They were better off rotting in hell anyway…_

The dark stain in his heart was growing larger. It was devouring up what little light was left. Even with Jack and his friends around he couldn't get himself to care about anything. _What if Hiro's already- _

_No! Not Hiro… Calm the hell down, Tadashi… Hiro is going to be okay_.

_But what if he's not? What if it's already too late? _

His own voice whispered in his head. Tadashi felt a black void forming. He could literally _feel_ it. It was so painful that it took everything in his power not to clench his heart and break down right there. It was a bad feeling and the more he tried to suppress it or shake it off, the more persistent it became. He resisted the urge to just beat anything up that breathed around him or to just break something. To completely destroy it. He clenched his hands in his pockets trying to regain control of himself. He kept his bloody knuckles hidden from the others though; a small, barely noticeable ounce of shame crept into the back of his mind.

His new friends would be ashamed if they knew. They'd be scared, wouldn't they? Would they still be willing to help him knowing he killed people? Knowing what ends he would go to get what he wanted? The logical side of his brain kept telling him to ditch them the next chance he got.

_It was for the best. _

Then he would carry on with his search for Hiro. That way, he wouldn't feel any remorse for the lives that would be sacrificed along the way. Fred's eccentric yell snapped his mind back to reality.

"Alright!" Fred pumps his fists in the air excitedly; oblivious to the raven haired teen's inner turmoil. "This is awesome. We got ourselves a lead!"

"Not really..." Tadashi responds solemnly; breathing in a heavy sigh and resisted the urge to run a hand through his black hair. "He dropped off the grid a few hours ago. He's probably dead." He watches all the eyes in the room widen and scoffs as GoGo speaks his mind.

"So back to square one then?" She says, crossing her arms. "Great."

"Not necessarily." Jack says as he steps forward and turns to Tadashi. "Whatever Hiro's mixed up in, it's big. I'm talking _'end of the freaking world' _big."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, nearly froze half a dozen goons to get this." Jack said pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his hoodie pocket. He handed it over to Tadashi who made a quick scan of its content.

"I-I don't understand…" He said finally lifting his eyes to meet Jack's crystal blue ones and returning the piece of paper back. "What is this?"

"It's a project. A global scale one. It's called '_Project: Rising Dawn._' " Jack took a second to shake his head at the absurdity of the name and went on. "Whoever we're after? The Boss Man? Looks like these thugs are more afraid of him than death."

"What do you mean?" Wasabi voices everyone's thoughts.

Jack holds up the piece of paper so they all could see. On the yellowish-white sheet of paper was a crude sketch of what looked to be some sort of a symbol. The rough drawing consisted of a circle with another smaller circle caged within it and twelve wavy lines emerging from them; spread out in all directions. Jack flipped the paper back to study the strange symbol once more. "I mean… I've never seen anyone so tight lipped about something before. It takes two things for anyone to spill their guts around here, one's money. The other is the fear of getting killed. Trust me these guys would kill their own mothers if it meant saving their skin but… The few who knew anything about this seemed almost… hysterical at the mere mention of the project's name." Jack said, leaning against his staff. "Whoever we're dealing with… must be one scary SOB."

"So… What do we do now?"

"Now? I'm taking you guys back to your car." Tadashi said. It has been a long night. He was tired and he was sure they were too. Didn't they have families to return to? Surly their family members would be worried for their children. It was way past midnight, it was going to be sun rise in a couple of hours. They all looked like they needed sleep. Tadashi wanted to get them safely out of SFB and back to their homes before he had even more guilt weighing down his shoulders.

_They're slowing you down, Tadashi. They're sheep. They don't belong in your world. Let them go…_

_Shut it._ He forcibly pushed away his thoughts.

The others began to protest, especially Fred but Tadashi silenced them all with a deadly glare that couldn't have been more obvious if he had a '_no more arguments' _neon sign painted on his forehead. They almost flinched at the intensity of it so they solemnly took off the extra layers of clothing and gave it back to Tooth and thanked her.

"No problem." Tooth smiled at them. They seemed so deflated to leave. Anybody who came to SFB normally couldn't wait to leave but these kids… She shook her head. "I'd ask you to visit again but I really hope you don't have to."

Tadashi then ushered the SFIT students towards the door but stopped and turned back when he heard his name being called.

"Tadashi, before you go." Jack said as Tooth handed him something long and wrapped carefully with a bright crimson cloth. He walked over to the five teens with it carefully bundled up close to his chest and extends them to Tadashi.

"What's this?" Tadashi asked as he takes the heavy object from the pale teen and proceeds to uncover it. He could sense his friends peering over his shoulder to get a find out what the mystery object was too.

"Just something that I think will be useful to you." Jack smirks as he steps back near Tooth and lets Tadashi remove the red cloth.

Tadashi's eyes widen ever so slightly but Fred was the one who voiced his excitement. "Holy mother of Megazon! Is that… Is that the Legendary Shadow Flaming dual wilding swords of Terror!?"

"Uhh… Not really sure if that's what it's called. But I guess it's a pretty close description." Jack chuckled as he watched the eccentric teen giggle and ogle at the weapons.

Tadashi shifted the weapons to his left arm and lifted one of the swords in his right hand to get a closer look at it. The swords were totally black; both handle and blade. It seemed almost as long as Tadashi's arm; almost but not quite. The blades weren't wide but sleek instead. It had a brilliant metallic shine to it. The blades had a very intricate design engraved on it. The design flared from the bottom of the blade and thinned out as it reached the top. The design bled red. It was a thing of beauty. "You… You're just giving these to me?"

"Sure. Why not?" Jack shrugged as if to say _'no big deal'_. "It belonged to North and now it belongs to you." Jack smiled at the memory of his father figure. _Nickolas St. North; the Man of Wonder._ He had given Jack these swords soon after his retirement. He had sworn never to be a part of SFB again. Those days were now long behind him now and besides North seemed pretty content with living life as a toy maker in his little toy shop stationed near Sakura Street.

"Jack, I-I can't take these…"

"Sure you can. North doesn't want 'em back and I have no use for them," Jack gestured proudly to his staff. "Trust me, those swords are better off with you than lying frozen somewhere in my attic."

Tadashi flicked the blade single-handedly as if to test it out and was stunned when it suddenly came to life; making everyone in the room flinch and nearly fall back on their butts. The suddenness almost made Tadashi drop the sword.

The red vines on the blade glowed lava red and the sword itself was on fire. Literally. On. Fire.

"Holy crap." Wasabi breathed and Tadashi couldn't have agreed more.

Fred was so excited he couldn't stop himself from giggling and hovering over Tadashi's shoulder, blabbering on about how cool they were and how cool Tadashi was for owning them now and how it made him look like the coolest vigilante he'd ever seen.

The sword had powered down and Tadashi ignored the still rambling teen and turned to Jack. "Jack, I don't know what to say."

"What's with all the pleasantries all of a sudden? That's not like you at all." _But I'm glad for it nonetheless._ Jack left unsaid and chuckled. "Just make good use of 'em, alright?"

"I will." Tadashi nodded, adjusting the velvet and hiding the swords away again.

"I'll keep a look out and see if I can dig any deeper into this."

"Sure… And, uh, thanks… For everything. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

"Hey, after everything you've done for me and my little sister. It's the least I can do for you and yours." Jack pauses, unsure about something before making up his mind and continuing. "You know, there's still one person we haven't asked yet. He's the best of us all, you and I both know that."

The gang shift their gazes to Tadashi. By the looks of it, Tadashi did know what or who Jack was talking about and he seemed pretty flustered about it. "No. No way. I'd rather slit my throat first than ask that scumbag for help."

"I know but I'm just saying, he's been playing this game a lot longer than you or I have. If anyone knows anything… It's gotta be him. And who knows, maybe he'll be willing to actually _help_ this time."

"I don't need his help." Tadashi growled, his voice sounding lower than it had ever been before.

Jack raised his hands in surrender and smiled, at least to ease the tension in the atmosphere and managed to say the next sentence as lightly as possible. Tadashi and him might be friends but that doesn't mean he wouldn't get punched. And right now Tadashi was more unstable than ever. But still, Jack met Tadashi's glare head on. "Don't let your pride get in the way, alright?"

"It's not about pride." Tadashi shakes his head and turns away. "I just don't like him."

"Who does?" Jack chuckles; relieved that Tadashi had calmed down a little. "But just… think about it. It may as well be our last resort."

"Fine, whatever." Tadashi muttered as he wore his Kitsune mask. He gave Jack a one handed wave and ploughed through his friends towards the exit. Honey, Wasabi, GoGo and Fred said their goodbyes as well and hurried behind their agitated friend. They wondered who Jack and Tadashi were talking about and why Tadashi seemed so dead set on not meeting him.

Jack and Tooth watched as Kitsune and his friends disappeared into the shadows of SFB.

Tooth turns her gaze towards Jack and notices his troubled eyes, his furrowed brows and how his lips were drawn into a thin line. "I know that look. Something's wrong…"

"No. It's… nothing."

_Yeah right._ "You're hiding something…"

Jack smirks and turns towards his colorfully dressed partner. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" He chuckles when he sees Tooth pouting. She did know him better than anyone else, except for Manny of course. He paused for a while before telling Tooth everything else he learned on his recon mission. He watched as Tooth's eyes grew into saucers.

"Tadashi doesn't know about this, does he?" Tooth gasped.

"No."

"Shouldn't you have told h-"

"No. He's better of not knowing… for now at least. Let him focus on getting his brother back first." Jack again pulled out the paper that had the symbol on it. He looked over it as if it would magically give him all the answers he needed to help his distressed friend and his brother.

"But Jack-"

"If he knows, it'll only make him more reckless and that might get him killed... Or worse, captured." Jack sighs. "Besides... He'll find out soon enough anyway."

* * *

Hmm… Wonder who that mystery man is? *winks*

Okay, that's all for now. Not a lot of action in this one I know. Just hang in there a little longer, okay?  
And I've been meaning to ask you guys this for a while now. **What song do you think will suit my story the most?** Please let me know! I'm open to any genre of music (but preferably rock) ^_^ It can be due to the lyrics or the ambiance of the song or both.

Feel free to leave me a review and let me know! I'm super curious! Also, **let me know what your favorite song of all time is.**

Until next time!  
See you later, guys!  
*Fist-bump*  
Ba-la-la-lala!


	13. Chapter 13: Unbearable Endurance

**A.N:** And SHE. HAS. RETURNED. **VICTORIOUS!** *Loud cheering and trumpets playing in the background* ^_^ That's right. Exams are over and I survived it! Yay! I'm back and I'm feeling good. I hope your still with me ^_^ and I didn't make you wait too long.

**THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND TO ALL THOSE WHO'VE FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED AND REVIEWED! LOVE YOU! :-***

I'm not gonna ramble this time. You've waited long enough.  
(Shout-Outs at the end of the chapter cause spoilers)

**_Enjoy!_**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Unbearable Endurance**

Hiro decided that waking up on that white slab was the worst decision he'd ever made.

_Pain. _

God! Pain was all he could feel.

_It hurt._ Everything hurt. His head, his arms, his legs, his body, _his soul... _

Everything hurt since the time he opened his eyes and found himself back in the prison cell again surrounded by those accursed white walls.

Recovery must have not gone so well. He guessed they weren't really equipped to heal a Technopath. His stomach growled loudly making him glance towards the plate filled with fresh food for the seventh time since he'd woken up half an hour ago. He drew his legs close to his chest and rested his forehead on his knees. He hid his face and wrapped his arms around himself as tightly as he could. He wished he could just disappear already.

_Tadashi… Why aren't you here yet? _

The pain in his mind lingered on and on endlessly. _It wouldn't stop hurting…_ He was well aware that he had used his powers; the migraine was a tell-tale sign for it. He wasn't sure what _exactly_ he had done but whatever it was, must've been something big. Big enough to land him back in recovery. Big enough for him to feel as though his brain would turn into mush and ooze out of his ears.

He was distressed by the fact that these people forced him to use it even without him consciously doing it. It scared him to think about the lengths they were willing to go through to get what they wanted. But the question was, _what exactly did they want? What was their end game? _

It hurt too much to think but thankfully for Hiro, distraction came knocking. Well, not _knocking_ but close enough. Hiro lifted his head just in time for the rectangular line to form and disappear into the walls. Despite feeling extremely weak, Hiro shifted his body to a defensive position.

"How's my little guinea pig doing?"

"Go to hell!" Hiro hissed at the man with the bloodshot eyes.

"Where do you think you've been all this time?" Jackson sneered as he came to stand near Hiro with Abigail trailing silently behind him. She stood a foot away from Jackson with a blank closed expression.

Hiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the man's comment. He chose to glare at the two people he now officially hated the most in this world instead. He eyed the unguarded door behind them and almost made a blind dash towards the exit but the little device in Jackson's hand made him think twice about doing so. He did not feel like getting tased today. Plus, Hiro didn't think he'd be able to withstand any more pain.

"You haven't eaten." Jackson said looking down at the plate of abandoned food. "It's not poisoned if that's what you're thinking."

_I'm not taking any chances… _Hiro narrowed his eyes even further at the evil man to which the latter chuckled. Jackson strode over to the food and picked up a small slice of apple before eating it. "You're quite lucky to be receiving such VIP treatment from us."

"You call this VIP treatment?" Hiro scoffed.

"Indeed. Most, if not all, of our other experiments don't even know what food tastes like."

Hiro scowled at Jackson. He didn't appreciate being called an experiment. He pitied the other unfortunate suckers who were trapped under Jackson's claws and held prisoner here. He imagined them being fed by tubes and shuddered.

"Tell you what, because I'm in such a good mood, how about I answer any _one _of the many questions swirling around in that magnificent brain of yours?" Jackson grinned from ear to ear. _That's right_. He was happy. He was elated in fact. Everything was going according to plan. The data Hiro had provided earlier had been more useful that the man had initially hoped. The boy showed so much potential. This boy was the key. The key to making his darkest dreams come true. "Go on, ask away."

Hiro shifted his gaze from Jackson to Abigail and back again. He looked uncertain.

"I'll answer honestly, cross my heart." Jackson grinned; making a show of crossed his index finger over the left side of his chest.

Hiro had a million questions he wanted to ask. Most were about what was to become of him. What did they need him and his powers for? How long did he have until these people were satisfied? _Would they ever let him go once they got what they wanted?_ Although he already guessed what the answer to the last one was. Despite all these questions, Hiro chose to ask the most fundamental one of them all. It would also help him gauge the safety levels of his brother.

"How did you know about me? About my powers?" Hiro always wondered this. He and Tadashi were ever so careful about concealing his Technopathic powers. No one could've possibly known about them. What if the snitch was one of those backstreet gang members? _Did that mean Tadashi was in danger too?_ But the answer was something Hiro would never have guessed even in his wildest dreams.

_Oh, how he loved toying with his prey_. Jackson leered at the little boy appearing to be brave in front of him for a moment and answered in the most cryptic way possible. "Your parents."

That was all he said and Hiro was taken aback. "M-my parents?" What did his parents have to do with anything? He hadn't even gotten a chance to know them. _His parents? Seriously? _

"Yes." Jackson hadn't elaborated after that. Hiro seemed too dumbstruck to say or do anything more. He thought they were dead… Tadashi had told him they had died when he was just a little baby. _Was it a lie?_ _Could they somehow still be __**alive?**_

"How… How do you know my parents?"

Jackson tsk'd. "Only one question a day I'm afraid. Any more will have to wait until tomorrow."

Hiro looked ready to argue but Jackson was already walking out the door, hands clasped behind his back. He stopped at the threshold and spoke to his secretary; his head turned slightly to the side to address her. "Abigail, please have HT 229B prepped and ready for the tests. If he shows any signs of resistance or tries anything funny, you know what to do." He spoke as if Hiro no longer existed to him and tossed the device in her direction which she easily caught.

He was gone after that.

Abigail sighed internally. There really was no need for her to escort Hiro. The organization had those mindless drones to do that. Was this some sort of a test of her loyalty? She tucked a wayward strand of brown hair behind her ear and turned to Hiro. The poor kid looked so lost that it broke her heart. She masked her emotions and cleared her throat in hopes to snap him out of it.

Hiro stared off into the hallway beyond the open space where Jackson had disappeared. Instead of answers, he was only filled with even bigger questions. He blinked twice and looked at the woman, Abigail, when she cleared her throat. His eyes were wide and pleading. "Do you know where my parents are?" He asked in a voice that sounded too small and high pitched even to his ears.

The stony mask slipped a bit. "I'm sorry. I only joined here recently. I don't know anything about your parents." She said in genuine sympathy. Hiro looked ready to cry. Her motherly instincts were killing her. They were choking her, begging her to do something for the little one. _Help him!_ He might not live to get another chance, _Help him, Abigail_.

But another voice stopped her. _But my father…_ She gritted her teeth and bit her lip. She was going to get into _so_ much trouble for this. _Was this kid really worth the risk? C'mon, Aby, wouldn't it be worth it if he escapes? Look at him, he's so broken already._ And with one last look at the 'kicked puppy dog' expression of his, Abigail made up her mind. "Five minutes."

"What?" Hiro asked her in confusion. His round brown eyes gazing into her sturdy grey ones.

"I'm going to give you a five minute head start to get out of here." She said sternly. She then threw the trigger at the ground as hard as she could and followed it up by smashing it with her right heel; effectively destroying it. She then pulled out a card from one of her coat pockets and gave it to him. "I'm sorry I can't do more."

Hiro took the flat object tentatively. It was only slightly bigger than a credit card. He could guess what it was for. He looked down at the bits of wires and circuit boards near her feet. He touched his neck where the collar was. It was still there, it was still active. Only the trigger had been broken. _Why was she suddenly helping him?_ Wasn't she the one who kidnapped him in the first place? Whose side was she on? Well, he didn't want to stick around to find out. He'd take any chance he got at this point to escape.

Hiro spared a split second glance at her before zipping out of the room and into the maze like hallways. Abigail stood where she was, eyes closed and praying.

For both of them.

Hiro looked right then left_. Dammit!_ All of these halls looked exactly the same. _Make a decision! Fast!_ He went right and then another right then a left. _Why couldn't Abigail give him a map or something along with her key card? _He took another right and a left and ended up face-to-face with a dead end.

"Dammit." He cursed and backtracked. Then went the other way and ran along a long corridor. The rooms around here were very different from his own. For starters, they had actual doors. They must've designed a special room just for him even before he came here. _Oh lucky me!_

He was surprised the halls were this empty. _Why was no one around? Was he walking into a trap? Had Abigail tricked him?_

He skidded to a halt when he saw what he assumed was the elevator. _BINGO!_ He ran through the hallway, his feet pushing him closer and closer to the exit. He ended up facing large double doors that were locked. He traced the card on the flat panel to his left and the light bulb just above the door clicked green and the doors slid open. Hiro pressed himself into the corner, in case there were people on the other side. He peered in slowly and released a breath of relief when he found no one.

Hiro hopped into the elevator and his heart nearly stopped when he heard footsteps getting closer down the corridor. He jammed his finger against the close button as many times as possible_. Oh no!_ The doors weren't closing fast enough! _C'monC'monC'monC'monC'mon! CLOSE ALREADY! SHIT! _

Two people rounded the corner just in time for the doors to clamp shut and Hiro nearly slumped to the metal floor in relief. That was too close. He took a deep breath and let it out. He pushed the button that led to the ground floor and felt the elevator jerk before taking him down. He hoped it wouldn't stop anywhere in the middle.

While he waited for the boxy contraption to take him down, his scrambled thoughts and focus landed on the stupid collar. He touched it again. He could feel the machine alive under his fingertips. On his run, he had tried sensing the machines around him. Either there was not a single machine on that entire floor or Hiro couldn't scene them with his Technopathic powers. He doubted the first one was true. He touched the elevator's buttons panel. He could still feel the wires and circuitry behind it. This meant that the collar only prevented him from using his powers telepathically. His powers seemed to work better by touch, even if restricted.

_What a useful thing to think about in a situation like this, Hiro. _

Hiro jerked his fingers away from the panel when the elevator came to a sudden halt, causing him to lose balance and fall. But he still managed to catch himself with the help of the railing. _Oh no! It could've have been five minutes already! _He had wasted too much time searching!

The elevator's lights had turned red and he could hear muffled alarms blaring, spiking even more fear into Hiro's heart, making it pump blood faster. _This was it! They were going to find him!_ And where would he have been when they did? Stuck in a freaking metal cage, that's where!

_No way! C'mon Hiro, giving up is not your style. What have I always taught you?_

"Look for a new angle," Hiro muttered to himself; parallel to his brother's voice. Sending a silent thanks to him even though he knew Tadashi with him at the moment. _Soon Dashi! I'm going to get out of here! Just watch me! _

Hiro looked around. He was surrounded by metal. The roof was too far away and he was far too short to reach it. Even if he somehow managed to climb onto the railings, it was impossible. _Damn his tiny size!_ He looked at the doors and saw that as his only option. He prayed that the elevator was stuck on some floor instead of somewhere in-between them.

He pressed the palm of his hand on the buttons panel and concentrated as hard as he could. He squeezed his eyes shut and bore with the agony that shot to his brain. The feeling could only be described as a million knives stabbing his brain repeatedly but he still kept going.

Soon, Hiro had the doors open, just enough to squeeze through and it looked like his prayers were answered for once. The elevator had stopped just short of leaving the floor. _Thank god for his small size. _He was never complaining again.

He wiggled free from both doors and crawled out of the metal box. He shot to his feet so fast that it made him feel a little disoriented. Careful not to trip, he braced himself on the nearby wall for a breather even though he knew he had no time for that. He felt something wet tickle down his lips. He touched it with a shaky finger and inspected it.

He drew them back to find blood. _His blood. _

Hiro panted and swiped away at the rest of the blood seeping from his nose.

"Hey! You there!"

Hiro turned his head and found three people running towards him. _No! Can't get caught now. Must escape._ He took off in the opposite direction. Despite his body practically begging him for some rest he refused to give in and ran along corridors and made quick turns in desperate hopes to lose his pursuers.

This was definitely a busier floor. More people saw him. More people tried to stop him but he pushed past them all. Sometimes even hurting a few in questionable places on their bodies. He dashed from one hallway to another. Finally he made a decision to hide in one of the rooms, so Hiro pulled out Abigail's key card and slid it onto the panels closest to him and rammed through the doors that opened.

"Hey! What're you doing? You're not supposed to be in here!" yelled a man from behind him.

Hiro braced himself against the closed door to catch his breath for a second.

"I'm calling security!" said another man.

"No!" Hiro panicked and like a flash of lightning he was on them. There seemed to be only two people in the room. _Good_. He could deal with just two people. He grabbed the trash can that sat next to him and hurled it straight at the man's head to his left. The guy who threatened to call security. He was completely knocked out cold two seconds later.

Hiro swirled around. Without wasting any time, he hopped onto the desk and directed a flying kick at the other man. Hiro hit him square in the chest and the man stumbled back. He slipped and fell backwards; hitting his head on the edge of the large monitors and was unconscious before he landed on the ground.

Hiro collapsed onto his knees. His legs were no longer able to hold him up. He rested his hands on the floor and panted. He was drenched in sweat and the weird clothes he was wearing wasn't helping any. Still breathing heavily, he looked around. He was in some sort of a computer room. One side of it was completely filled with huge monitor screens and giant keyboards with more than a gazillion buttons on it.

Hiro slowly lifted himself up. He glanced at the two men in the room. They were both alive but it looked like they wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. He went over to the computers. He knew he had more pressing matters to attend to, like escaping but this might be his only chance to find the truth.

_The truth about my parents. _

Hiro's eyes traveled over all the different buttons on the keyboard. He didn't understand them all but he didn't need to. He clicked a button on the screen and immediately it lit up and flashed an '**ERROR**' warning.

'**AUTHERIZATION REQUIRED**.' It read in bold red. But it wasn't a password that was needed. It needed something else.

Hiro huffed and looked around and found what he was looking for. A fingerprint scanner. A scanner that supposedly required all five prints. Hiro manhandled one of the men to the scanner and placed their right hand on the flat surface. It wasn't easy; especially considering how spent Hiro was feeling and how heavy the man was.

Thankfully, he didn't have to hold up the unconscious man's body for long. He let him go as soon as the red letters turned green and read '**ACCESS GRANTED**.'

"Yes!" Hiro rejoiced and quickly brought up the search option and typed in _'Hamada'_ as a keyword and pressed enter.

'**No Result**'

The feeling of that small bit of accomplishment faded as quickly as it came. _Yeah, it was a long shot anyway._ Hiro knew that. He'd never thought of himself as a hacker before but there was a first time for everything. He took a deep breath and placed the palms of his hands on the keyboard and concentrated again.

Maybe he'd have better luck searching with his powers. He didn't know where he got the energy from. But he knew he didn't have a lot left. _Was trying this really worth it? _He should consider using what little energy he had left on figuring a way to escape.

But this was about his parents. _His Parents!_ No, this was more important. It was important for _him. _

And so, with that in mind, he concentrated once again, this time on the more digital aspects of his powers. He didn't know where to even begin. He'd never tried it before and it felt strange and bizarre. Like travelling through a realm filled with 1s and 0s. Even though they were just numbers Hiro could tell what was what so instinctively that it surprised even him. It wasn't as hard as he expected it to be. It was like a switch to his powers was suddenly turned on.

After a short while, Hiro decided to give up. There was nothing of interest to find here and he felt disappointed and disheartened. _Maybe this really was a waste of time._ But just when he was about to pull back, something had caught his attention. Instead of finding his parents files, Hiro found something else far more interesting. More Alarming. _No, why was this here?_ There was no need for it to be here. He thought to himself and he went to dig deeper. Just when he had almost unravelled its secrets, he was pulled away from the machine harshly by his clothes.

The men who had grabbed Hiro threw him to the floor savagely. Hiro gulped in much needed air and clenched his stomach as he coughed uncontrollably. _Wha-what the hell was that?_

"I'm impressed." Hiro heard the man's voice before he saw him. He also heard the slow methodical clapping from Jackson. He didn't bother to lift himself off the floor. He was too exhausted to do anything anyway. "I never expected you to make it this far."

Hiro didn't say anything. He simply lay panting on the floor with two gigantic bouncers standing on either side of him.

"Did Abigail go easy on you?" Jackson asked in a sing-song tone and suddenly, he was standing above Hiro with a cruel expression on his face. "Quite the trouble maker, aren't we?" He crouched so he could be on the same level as Hiro and held out a little device so he could see.

Hiro's slightly distant eyes cleared up instantly and widened. "No…"

"Yes, I had backups made just for occasions like these," Jackson sneered, waving the electronic trigger in front of the boy's face tauntingly. "Time for your punishment, little one." He said and pushed the trigger.

A blood curding scream ripped through the halls. The horrible searing pain shot through Hiro's body. Every working muscle in his body seemed to seize at once. Hiro grunted, he sputtered, and he gasped and groaned. His body jerked uncontrollably and wayward tears fell freely from his eyes. It hurt; it hurt way more than last time. He had forgotten how bad it was the first time, but no way was that anywhere close to being as painful as this. This was agonizing and he had no way of escaping it. The waves of pain kept crashing into him… It just wouldn't _stop!_

_Oh god_, he couldn't breathe…

And just when he thought it wouldn't end, it ended. Hiro whimpered and curled in on himself; or tried to at least. He couldn't get any of his spazzing limbs to do anything. They just wouldn't listen to him anymore so he lay there twitching. His face showed the torturous pain his body felt. He gasped and heaved and coughed; anything to clear his lungs to make them function properly again.

Hiro heard laughter above him. This man was a maniac. Jackson was going to kill him! He looked happy enough to see him suffering so much. Freaking lunatic was enjoying himself. "Had enough?" He sneered.

"Wh- why… do you… have-" Hiro coughing and gasped again. _Why was it so hard to breathe again? Oh yeah, it's cause you nearly had your lungs roasted, you idiot_. But still, he had to know. Had to ask before he passed out. _That file_. What were they planning? He had to know! He didn't care if he was tortured even more. He had to know!

"Oh. Well, I'm guessing you mean the project we're working on. Project Rising Dawn?" Jackson smirked as Hiro tried to nod, even though he failed miserably. "That's on a need to know basis I'm afraid. And you, clearly don't need to know about it."

Jackson then gestured to the two men and one of them heartlessly hauled Hiro to his feet and then flung him over his broad shoulder before following Jackson out of the room. Hiro didn't have any fight in him left. He dangled limply as the man carried him all the way to the examination room. The one he had entered the first time kicking and screaming.

Before his brain could even process what was going on, he was strapped to the table again with various wires attached to his body. He still hadn't regained full use of his body so struggling was pointless. He might end up making Jackson mad again.

His blurry vision cleared enough to see Abigail walking towards him with a hard look on her face. She leaned forward, her lips near his ears and whispered something that only he could hear and after hearing it, he couldn't stop the scream that ripped out of him. "NOOOO!"

She looked at him with a forlorn expression and backed away.

Hiro's eyes widened with fear and distress as he began to trash around on the table. He would endure getting electrocuted a thousand times over, but not that. He wouldn't survive that. "NO! C-come back! Y-you can't! I'll do anything! I swear I'll co-operate. Please don't! PLEASE! NO!"

"Goodbye, Hiro." Abigail whispered.

And the pain began all over again.

* * *

Alrighty. That's it for this chapter. It was a pretty long one, huh? Now for my most favorite part!

_**SHOUT-OUTS!**_

**AnimeWolfGirl16:** I did well on my finals (I hope) And I didn't know closer was Naruto song. Yay! You listen to those too? That's awesome. My favorite is "Parasyte" by NateWantsToBattle and Shawn Christmas. I really liked closer too. (::)(::)(::) Sharon: Oh! I love 'I don't care' I remember singing it with my cousin when we were in my kitchen one time and I ended up letting the milk boil and overflow and yeah, it was a disaster. Ahhh… XD Fun times. Some of its lyrics does suit this fanfic in a way. And Coldplay- awesome as always! Thanks for the suggestion. (::)(::)  
**Guest1:** Lol, you'll find out who the mystery man is soon. AND! Holy crap! When I heard Towards the Sun, I was like, hmm where have I heard this before and then it hit me! HOME! XD Though I've only heard the song's chorus. This is Living is pretty good too. Thank you for the suggestions! (::)  
**Starlight420****:** I actually went back and corrected and re-uploaded all previous chapters. Hopefully it's better now. And as for the 'mystery man' XD I'm not giving anything away until next time. And I LOVE Skillet! And Hero is so awesome! ^o^ It does suit Hiro's current situation perfectly! And I LOVE Three Days Grace! (You have awesome taste in music, my friend) I Am Machine is awesome! I am in love with its Chorus! AND Wolf In Sheep's Clothing is my new favorite song. I can't stop replaying it over and over again. I LOVE IT! And Who are you really felt like Tadashi was leading them all straight down to hell, AWESOME! The feel was awesome and eerie and cool! (I've said this once, I'll say it again, you have wonderful taste in music) I've heard of Problem. Pretty good song ^o^ (::)(::)  
**Guest2:** Hehe, thank you so much for the wonderful compliment. My top two favorite movies so I'm glad I was able to pull it off. Bad to the Bone?! Are you serious? NO! That's so awesome! XD *thumbs up to you* (::)  
**shooting2stars:** Lol, um, thank you! XD Light Em Up just has to be right up there with Immortals for every Big Hero 6 fans, don't ya think? *wink wink*(::)  
**Purpalz Miner****:** Wait, *gasp* You don't mean Discord by The Living Tombstone, do you? I found that song right before going to watch the ROTG movie and I've loved it ever since. ^_^ It's rare that people know of it. (::)  
**Dreamer:** YAY! *Beams* You sure have an amazing way with words! *Hugs you* Are you secretly some super famous author? *narrows eyes suspiciously at you* And Oh, guess what, I feel I'm making progress with what you said. Starting with school and exams. And you know what, I'm a happier person now! You are truly inspirational, my awesome friend! Tadashi's golden words to every Gummygirl out there, "I am not giving up on you," 3 Lol, as for the Avatar reference, why yes, it is. The Death the Kid reference is all you. XD I didn't mean to put it there but I guess it still can be interpreted that way. XD And yeah, I WISH WE COULD MEET! I feel that way sometimes too (well, used to, now I have some really amazing friends) But I used to the outcast in my school and I always felt like I didn't belong. I was really desperate for someone to share my feelings with. So yeah, Tadashi's feelings are somewhat parallel to mine. And thank you, you are 50% right about that Tooth's Minibots. *wink wink* The thing with Jack, well, you'll have to wait a while before I reveal anything about them (I don't wanna deviat from the main plot now- but might make it a one shot sometime after this story is finished) AND YOU SHOULDN'T APOLOGIZE! I love reading your long reviews that are always filled with so much emotion! It wasn't spam XD *HUGS you tighter* Thank you for the wishes. Now for the song, Paper Moon is awesome! Although I couldn't find the English version of TommyHeavenly6 from it. :-( Found the Japanese one so I couldn't relate the references. But I liked the song. I love anime ops and ending theme songs. Thank you for the suggestion! ^o^ (::)(::)  
**Servo645****:** Kitty! *squishes your face and messes with your fur* ^_^ I'm not gonna apologies for that. Whoa, Servo, so many songs! And HOLY CRAP! Nothing Else Matters is my friend's favorite song! Wow. XD What Have You Done is cool and Numb is always on my top songs list. And yay! 3 Doors Down! What's your favorite? Mine's Here Without You. I haven't heard of Disturbed but I'm gonna check it out. (::) (*and milk*)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce****:** Lol, Who doesn't like flaming swords right? XD And… uh, maaaybe. Well, if he is, you'll have to wait to find out. And… Was that a compliment? XD (::)  
**Rosycat****:** YAY! Centuries is awesome and a Fall Out Boy favorite! And I'm glad you think so and yes, so many question and so little answers. I've got a looooot of explaining to do, huh? But in time you shall find the answers you seek, my curios comrade, in time. XD P.S I adore Dark!Tadashi as well *smirks evilly* (::)  
**CarishTale****:** *wide eyes * I WONT TELL! Even if you torture me by tickling the souls of my feet, my lips are sealed! XD (::)  
**Lizzy:** Sorry the magical update took so darn long. *bows for forgiveness* And I've gotten a LOT of rock songs as suggestions for this story and each one of them is best in its own way that I cant make up my mind XD And yeah! I love fireflies! One of Owl City's finest. (so is Vanilla Twilight and Good Times) (::)  
**dragonhiro****:** Warriors is awesome! And for some reason it made me think about Divergent and the Hunger Games ^o^ Awesome! I think it's cause I know another song that sounds very very similar (his voice sounds the same I mean) (::)  
**GryffindorPosidens Divergents****:** Oh, well, um, thank you for that random bit of knowledge. I didn't know that XD Nemo… seriously? XD I don't know why I find that funny XD (::)  
**Justrockzyxxx****:** Centuries is awesome! Hmm… the general message of the song, huh? I have to take a minute to think about it. You might be right. ^_^ Thanks for the review and the suggestion. (::)

_Random Useless Info-_ I was going to name this chapter Busted Breakout but then realized it was basically a spoiler. XD Oh well…

I'm sorry my Shout-Outs get so long. I just feel like I have so much to say and tell you guys how much I appreciate the time you take to review and share with me your opinions! I love you all so so much! Thanks guys!

Until next time!  
*Fist-Bump*  
Ba-la-la-lala


	14. Chapter 14: Blackened Guidance

**A.N:** Hi Guys! Jeez! It's been too long. Thank you for your patience, once again. And for sticking with me. ^_^ I really really appreciate it. You guys ROCK! (Which isn't surprising cause you always do *winks*)

OH! There's something super cool I've been itching to tell you guys! I found the perfect song for my story but unfortunately I cant reveal it yet cause that song contains spoilers to the future chapter of this story. So instead I'm going to give you guys two clues so you can maybe guess the song. Cool? Okay so here it is,

**The beginning letter of the song starts from 'X' and the artist's name starts from 'S'**

I know I know, dumb clues but still… but then again, my entire fanfic is a clue in itself so... Hehee.

I had also found the perfect song for the original movie Big Hero 6. It's called 'Red like Roses (Part 2)' by Jeff and Casey Lee from RWBY.

I'm gonna totally fangirl now… So feel free to join me! This is the lyrics to the song. I highly recommend you at least skim through it. If you're a BH6 fan, trust me, this will be worth your time.

**I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute**  
**couldn't bear another day without you in it**  
**all of the joy that I had known for my life**  
**was stripped away from me the minute that you died**

**to have you in my life was all I ever wanted**  
**but now without you I'm a soul forever haunted**  
**can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted**  
**no way in hell that I can ever comprehend this **_(OMGOSH! I CAN TOTALLY IMAGINE HIRO SAYING THESE WORDS! IT MAKES ME WANNA CRY MY EYES OUT)_

**I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone**  
**I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong **_(OH GOSH! THE FIRE! HIRO WAS IN DENIAL!)_**_  
_How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay**  
**now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single f'in day **(_HIRO'S DEPRESSION_)

**It's like a movie but there's not a happy ending**  
**Every scene fades black and there's no pretending**  
**This little fairy tale doesn't seem to end well**  
**There's no knight in shining armor who will wake me from the spell **(_UNTIL ITS BAYMAX TO THE RESCUE)_**_  
_**  
**I know you didn't plan this**  
**You tried to do what's right** _(TADASHI RUNNING INTO A BURNING BUILDING TO SAVE HIS PROFESSOR)_**_  
_But in the middle of this madness**  
**I'm the one you left to win this fight **_(OMGOSH! SOOOOOOOOOOOO TRUE! Tadashi leaves Hiro to fight Yokai without him)_

**Red like Roses**  
**Fills my head with dreams and finds me**  
**always closer**  
**to the emptiness and sadness**  
**that has come to take the place of you **(_GAH! THIS LINE! Emptiness and sadness has certainly taken the place of you in my heart Tadashi!)_

**I know you're broken down by anger and by sadness **_(OMGOSH! I can imagine Tadashi singing this part to Hiro)_**_  
_You feel I left you in a world that's full of madness**  
**Wish I could talk to you if only for a minute**  
**make you understand the reasons why I did it **_(Yes! We need a god damned explanation dammit!)_**_  
_**  
**I wanna tell you that you're all that ever mattered**  
**want you to know that for eternity I'm shattered **_(OH TADASHI!)_  
**I tried so hard just to protect you but I failed to**  
**and in a prison of abandonment I've jailed you **(_SO TRUE! OMG! MY HEART! HIRO! TADASHI! YOU BOTH ARE TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS WORLD_!)

**I never planned that I would leave you there alone**  
**I was sure that I would see you when I made it back home**  
**and all the times I swore that it would be okay**  
**now I'm nothing but a liar and you're thrown into the fray **_(;-; bawling my eyes out at this point)_**_  
_**  
**This bedtime story ends with misery ever after**  
**The pages are torn and there's no final chapter**  
**I didn't have a choice I did what I had to do**  
**I made a sacrifice but forced a bigger sacrifice on you** (_This was how things would've ended if Tadashi's friends and Baymax didn't help Hiro)_**_  
_**  
**I know you've lived a nightmare**  
**I caused you so much pain**  
**but baby (bro) please don't do what I did**  
**I don't want you to waste your life in vain **_(AW TADASHI STILL CARES FROM HIS AFTERLIFE! HE WILL PROTECT HIRO NO MATTER WHAT! )_

**You're not the only one who needed me I thought you understood** _(Tadashi says this)_  
**You were the one I needed and you left me as I always feared you would **(_Hiro says this)_  
**Would I change it if I could? **(_OF COURSE YOU WOULD TADASHI_!)  
**It doesn't matter how,**  
**the petals scatter now **(_NO HIRO! DONT LOSE HOPE!)_  
**Every nightmare just discloses**  
**It's your blood that's red like roses**  
**and no matter what I do**  
**nothing ever takes the place of you**

OH GOSH! THIS SONG! I just... I just can't take it! There's only so much a person can take, dammit! Why?! Why do I torture myself this way. I had actually shared this with a friend a long long time ago... And dammit, it still has the same effect!

*Sniff sniff* Okay… I'm done now *collapses into a puddle of tears and hugs pillow*

Let's move on to the story… Shout-out's at the end (Cause, well, you should know by now) AND **A HUGE THANK YOU to EVERYONE who've reviewed, PM'd, Favorited and Followed. I LOVE YOU ALL! **

I hope you enjoy this chapter. ^o^ See you again on the other side XD

* * *

**Chapter 14: Blackened Guidance**

Tadashi and the gang trekked through SFB. They were nearing the exit; heading closer to the one of the outer rings of the black markets. They were back to being cloaked by darkness and surrounded by the nasty stench of blood, sweat and puke. Fortunate for them, they didn't have any more _'incidents'_ along the way and Tadashi more than anyone else was grateful for that.

Well, there was this one man who stumbled by them yelling '_Infidels!_' as he went swinging his bottle of scotch around. But that didn't count since he was most likely drunk out of his mind and he didn't really bother any of them directly.

A dim light flickered somewhere to their left as the gang passed by more dingy buildings and gloomy passageways. Tadashi breathed a sigh, more out of exhaustion than anything else. They were almost there. Soon, he'd drop them off at their car, instruct them to go back to their homes and forget any of this ever happened. He'd be rid of them after that.

A part of Tadashi would always regret doing this. It wasn't going to be easy convincing them either. But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. It had been risky enough exposing them to such dangers and evil. He knew he needed them. If nothing else, he needed them to keep him grounded… _To keep him human._ But he also knew he cared about them and that was exactly why he could never allow them to be a part of his life. He fought this battle raging inside him long enough. It was time to put an end to his decisiveness. It might be too late for him but it wasn't for them. He refused to let them drown while accompanying him on his sinking ship. But for what it was worth, somewhere in his heart, somewhere deep inside, they will always be his first and final friends and he would never forget them.

The gang followed obediently behind him. Keeping their guard up like he had instructed to earlier. They were completely oblivious to the internal struggles that their friend was going through. They were blissfully unaware of what awaited them once they reached their mode of transportation.

They were almost out of this dreary place when a slithery voice stopped both Tadashi and the others dead in their tracks. Tadashi's shoulders tensed at the words that were clearly directed at him.

"My, my... If it isn't the infamous Kurotsume Brothers. But it seems we're missing one, aren't we?"

Tadashi scowled and glared from behind his mask, straight at the shadows where he knew the man that addressed him stood. "Shut it, Pitch." He growled.

"Why Kit, you sound so unhappy to see me." Pitch Black a.k.a _The Boogeyman_, emerged from the darkness. His sharp crooked teeth spread across his grey face as he grinned like a Cheshire cat at the teen.

"That's because I am." Kitsune deadpanned; he placed himself between his friends and the nightmare king; subconsciously shielding them away from him.

"Now that's just hurtful." Pitch mocked; placing a hand over his wounded heart dramatically. "And after everything I've done for you."

_Yeah, like landing me and my brother in trouble… __**repeatedly**__._ Kitsune scoffed. "Leave me alone. I don't have time to deal with you today." He said dismissively, taking a step back and pushing the others away from the most venomous creature to ever exist in SFB. He was thankful that the SFIT students seemed smart enough not to draw attention to themselves.

"Ah yes." Pitch said in his unmistakable British accent. "Assembling a pathetic excuse for a rescue party must take quite a lot of your time I'll bet."

"Who the hell are you calling pathetic?" GoGo snapped.

Kitsune sighed. _Nope, spoke too soon…_ He almost face-palmed in exasperation when GoGo stepped forward, her shoulders squared, ready to bite but instead he extended his arm and pulled her back by her shoulder; with a little more force than necessary and glared at her.

Pitch's amused expression only seemed to grow. The bunch of teenagers standing behind Kitsune had now captured his undivided attention. Like a snake, zeroing in on its prey, he craned his neck to get a better look at all of them. They seemed to shrink back as his eyes glowed yellow with delight; except for one. The shortest female teenage it seemed, had some spunk. _Hmm,_ he liked that. His sick mind was already forming various scenarios to break her. He chuckled, the amused smirk never leaving his pale grey face.

"Speaking of which, is this it? I'm almost disappointed _Fox_. I expected a better, more brutal approach from you." The Boogeyman said as he slowly circled around them; studying them. They looked like a very interesting little group of kids. _Novices, all of them._ He'd love to teach them a thing or two about his nightmarish world…

But that would have to wait for another time.

For now though, he'd have to settle for his favorite soon-to-be pupil: _Kitsune_. He would get his chance with the others some other day. Pitch smirked and continued to taunt him. "What I didn't expect is for the notorious Kitsune to be prancing around with his new playmates. It's almost pitiful to watch."

Silence followed his disparaging remark.

"I must say, I'm quite surprised. I didn't think you were the type to make _friends._ Let alone bring them to a place like this." He said as he swung open his arms, gesturing to the world around him before locking them behind his back once more. "But all in vain I'm afraid. You're wasting your time. They're worthless to you… None of these _imbecile children _will give you what you're looking for."

_Don't play into it,_ Tadashi told himself. _This is what he wants; don't give the smug bastard what he wants._ "And what exactly am I looking for?" He found himself asking. _Damnit! _He chided himself.

"The location to where our dear little kitten is being held captive, of course." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kitsune's entire body stiffened. His arms went rigid beside him. _How did he know? _Besides his friends, Jack and Tooth were the only two people who knew about Hiro's kidnapping. And he was sure he was discreet enough to not give anything away when he interrogated the other punks of SFB… _But did it really matter now? Was Pitch telling the truth? _

"You know where he is?" Kitsune whispered in a low grainy voice, finding it hard to muster anything more.

"Not at the moment, no, but you and I both know I can find the location for you. All you need to do is ask." Pitch said with a sly tone; tilting his head to one side; enjoying the turmoil that rampaged inside the younger man's mind.

_Could this be it?_ Would he finally be able to find his brother? To _save _him? "Find him!" He yelled; taking a few steps forward. "Find him and tell me where he is!"

"Now Fox, I can't just _give _you anything you ask for, can I?" Pitch's cruel smirk broke out into an all-out evil grin. "But since I'm feeling awfully generous today, how about I make you an offer."

Kitsune's anger built. His chest burned warmer and warmer. _An offer from Pitch was never a good thing. __**Ever**__._ It was one of the first most painful lessons he and Hiro had learned after encountering the psychotic freak years ago. The man even had the audacity to want him and Hiro to be his apprentices. He couldn't stop the rage that bubbled inside of him.

"Don't toy with me, Pitch!" He growled low in his throat.

Anyone else would've been tempted to flee at the sight of the masked teen right now. But not Pitch. He wasn't just _anybody._ He was the Boogeyman; and they didn't call him that just for show.

"I'll be taking that as a... no? Hmm, shame." Pitch said as he turned around to leave. "Tell your dissected little brother I said hello. That is, assuming you ever find him."

**SLAM! **

Before anyone even knew what had happened, Kitsune had rammed Pitch into the dark moldy wall beside them. Cracks had formed behind the Boogeyman on the brownish black bricks. He curled his fists tighter around the dark collar that belonged to the older man and snarled. The SFIT students jumped at the sudden movement; their eyes wide as they observed the scene taking place in front of them.

Wasabi's arms tightened around the cocooned fire swords as he pressed them closer to his chest. His friends were all tense beside him. Kitsune looked as though he was about to murder the man.

Yet, the Boogeyman stood smirking down at Kitsune until he spoke in a calm but dangerous tone. "Get your hands off me." His eyes flashed with deadly intent.

"Tada… Ah, K-kitsune…?" Honey muttered.

The hair on the back of Kitsune's neck rose and his heart beat quickened. He felt a shiver run down his spine. His sharpened senses told him there was someone hiding in the shadows around them.

_No, not some__**one**__… some__**thing**_. He shifted his eyes around him from behind his mask and saw dull beady yellow eyes stare back; unblinking. They were nearly impossible to see. He was only able to detect them because he had trained himself in such a way. In fact, Tadashi would've easily missed them if it wasn't for years of constantly honing his skills and learning to pay attention to details.

There was no mistaking it though. _Those eyes…_

Those dark yellow eyes were rumored to be the last thing people saw before the darkness takes over.

_Shadow Bots. _

Pitch's greatest creations. They were robots that merged with the blackness around them. They're beady glowing eyes alone were enough to scare their prey away. It was said that only a hand full of people have actually seen what those bots really looked like and lived to tell about it. Jack Frost being one of them.

Tadashi himself had never come across one. He had no idea what they were capable of except for a few vague ideas… None of them being good.

Kitsune didn't know how many of those things surrounded them. But he could tell it was too many for him to handle. He could've managed something if he was alone but he wasn't. He had to worry about his friends. Their lives mattered too much to risk anything now. So he begrudgingly let Pitch go; taking the opportunity to shove him back as he did.

_No one said he had to be nice about it… _

"Fine, what do you want?" Kitsune snarled.

"Why, I simply want to help you." Pitch smiled slyly as he straighter his collar and dusted his long black cloak.

"Cut the crap, Pitch," Kitsune scoffed; crossing his arms. But wanting nothing more than to just strangle the man standing in front of him.

The shadow bots seemed to have backed off. He couldn't sense their presence any longer but he kept his guard up nonetheless and also an eye on his friends. Pitch was a man who had no morals nor was predictable in any way. There was no telling what he would do. _Dammit, he should've let Pitch leave when he had the chance._ _Oh well, no point in regretting it now…_

For now, he'd focus on keeping the Boogeyman's attention away from his friends and buy himself enough time to figure out an escape plan plus Pitch could have the answers he was looking for. So he kept talking.

"Look, I know you're not doing this out of the goodness of your heart."

"Of course not."

"So what is it? How much is it gonna cost me this time?"

Pitch smirked darkly. He liked making the Kurotsume brothers squirm; especially the older one. Toying with him was we just too much _fun_. The uneasy fear radiating from him, no matter how much the masked teen tried to supress it was just too delicious! This was the perfect opportunity to squeeze whatever he could out of him. He'd do whatever it took to save his precious baby brother after all. The whole world knew this. The young one would be his downfall someday. Pitch could see that clear as dark. He took a few steps closer to Kitsune until they were standing only a foot apart; noses only inches away.

"I don't want much…" The cloaked man whispered. "Just a measly amount in cash and your loyalty, for when I summon you one day."

Tadashi's insides twisted into a tight knot. This was exactly what he was waiting for all along. _That damned snake!_ His hands curled into fists at his sides… _This was for Hiro… _

_Only for Hiro… _He had to do this no matter what the future held for him. Tadashi couldn't even begin to imagine what Pitch had in store for him. His chest contracted and his fists clenched at his sides.

"Only me."

"What?"

"_When_ we rescue Hiro, you leave him out of this."

"… Done."

The SFIT students couldn't tell what exactly was going on, but whatever it was they could sense it wasn't good. Kitsune stepped away from the figure looming over him towards them.

"So how much cash are we talking here?" Kitsune asked.

Pitch shrugged; inspecting his long sharp jaggedly nails. "Not much really... Say…? One million dollars."

Kitsune was taken aback for moment. _One million? In cash?_ "Where the hell am I supposed to get that kind of money from?"

"Murder a millionaire, Rob a back, I don't care." Pitch shrugged once more; a barely noticeable smirk playing on his lips.

He knew it; this was just Pitch's twisted way to torment him. He had it all planned out right from the beginning. This was all just a one big game to him, one that was impossible for anyone else to win. Tadashi never even had a chance to begin with. Even if Pitch found out where his brother was, there was no way he would tell him without the assurance of getting what he wanted.

_Maybe he could rob a bank…_ Kitsune shut his eyes tight… Yeah, then he'd move even higher on the cop's wanted list. _Great… Just, great… What am I going to do now? _

_Hiro… _

Kitsune looked up when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"I got this, dude." Fred said giving him a thumbs-up before skipping forward and facing the Boogeyman with a broad smile. "We can get you the one million dollars, Shadow Man. No problem."

Kitsune's months fell open. He looked behind him at the others but they seemed just as flabbergasted as he was. He turned back to the lanky teen, pulling him back harshly and whispered low and hastily.

"Fred, what're you doing? I don't have that kind of money."

Fred shrugged out of his grip and clapped Kitsune on his back and grinned. "But I do."

Pitch recovered quickly. He quirked an eyebrow at the lanky teen. "Is this a joke?"

"No joke. My dad's the chairman of Mar-"

Kitsune clamped Fred's mouth shut with his hand. _Jeez!_ _Did this kid listen to him at all?!_ He specifically told them not to reveal any part of who they were here. The last person he should be revealing it to was Pitch Black! _Jesus!_ He wanted to smack him on the back of his head. He gave Fred a stern look.

"Double it."

Kitsune's head snapped back to Pitch. _Was he freaking serious?!_

"Sure."

Again, his head snapped back to Fred. _Wait! What the hell was going on?!_

"Alright then, it looks like we have ourselves a deal." Pitch stepped forward and extended his hand to Kitsune. He went back to ignoring the other teens again.

Kitsune looked at the hand and then at Fred. The eccentric teen nodded confidently. Tadashi still wasn't sure. Fred might be super rich, he didn't know, but two million dollars was no small amount. He felt guilty for wanting to accept the offer, but what if this was his only chance to find out where Hiro is?

He had to take it. He'd find a way to pay back Fred somehow later. Yes, that sounded better. And so, with that he took Pitch's hand and shook it sharply.

And just by that one simple action, the deal was sealed… as well as his fate.

"So, when will you be able to tell me where Hiro is?"

"Not long. You'll be the first to know, cross my heart." Pitch mocked, crossing his too long, bony index finger over the left side of his chest. "Oh and if I don't get that money as promised... My shadow bots will find you. Then both you and your new little friends are as good as **dead**."

Kitsune just glared at him in response. _I won't let you lay a finger on any of them… Over my dead body… _

"Pleasure doing business with you... _Tadashi Hamada_."

"Wait a second... Did he just call you Hamada? I though your name was Takachiho." Wasabi asked.

"Oops. I've done it again, haven't I? Looks like you and your new friends have some misunderstandings to clear up. So I'll just take my leave." Pitch gave them all a delighted grin before backing away and merging into the shadows. A low fading cackle was the only thing that could be heard.

Kitsune gulped as he turned around and faced his friends.

Mistrust was written all over their faces… and Tadashi's heart sank.

* * *

Jeez, Tadashi just can't catch a break, can he? Pitch, that sneaky son of a biscuit! Always trying to complicate everything for him. I hope I depicted his character properly. ^_^;

**SHOUT-OUTS TIME! **

**Guest:** Lol, well, I hope this chapter mellowed down the intensity. And yes, Tadashi's getting there… If a bit slow… HURRY UP TADASHI! (::)(::)(::)  
**Dreamer:** Wow… I mean… Just wow! How on earth will I ever be able to respond to that. I felt as though a tornado just passed through me (That's a good thing) Wow, *tried hard to control my laugher at your sweetness* Aw, what the hell! C'mere you! *squishes you till you can't breathe* You can be both happy and mad at me, I don't mind at all. As long as I made you smile along the way ^_^ I'm so delighted that you liked my previous update. This chapter was kinda like a speed breaker, wasn't it? XD And lol, yes, I'm still gonna keep my suspicion about you being a famous author until I find a way to prove otherwise. And no, I don't mind the language… Age of the internet and memes have taught me to look past those. ^_^ I believe we can all possess more than one emotion at a time… that's why describing them is so hard. At the same time, that's what makes us Human. Finding a balance between them is the challenge, don't you think? Thank you for all your wonderful comments about this fanfic. Reviews always inspire me and help me with not abandoning it. And you know what? You and Starlight420 are so totally true! From now on I promise not to apologize for the shout-outs! ^_^ Wait, before I go… *Last hug!* (::)(::)(::)  
**Justrockzyxxx****:** Lol, Tadashi… Well… He's getting there…. ^_^; And as for the slapping bit, I think GoGO has you covered. XD (::)  
**Rosycat**** :** DUDE! YES! Another one to fall victum to our fandom in denial! YES! Great job! So proud of you! XD And thank you for the awesome review! As for your question, yes, I've heard of it but I've never played. Unfortunately I rarely have any free time on my hands. Was there something cool you wanted to tell me about it? (::)  
**Starlight420****:** Hmm… Your right! XD Just when you think your close to finding out one answer, a billion more questions pop up. That's how my life is at the moment. Thank you once again for your comments and finding those mistakes. I went back and corrected them. ^_^ And yes, I realized that. And I thank you and Dreamer for knocking some sense into my head. I love Shout Outs and I shouldn't be apologizing for it. It won't happen again, I promise. As for the song, Seven Devils, Jesus, that was a creepy haunting song. ^o^ My favorite is still Wolf in Sheep's clothing. I'm addicted I'm telling you. Do you know any similar songs to it? Oh and do you like the band '30 Seconds to Mars?' (::)(::)(::)

**Purpalz Miner****:** Oh! That song is pretty freaking awesome! I found that song the day before I went to watch Rise of the Guardians. It was a ROTG AMV and I just fell in love with it. Even today when I listen to it, it brings back all those nostalgic moments. ^o^ (::)  
**CarishTale****:** Aw dammit! My replies gave it away! Noo! ^_^;; I need to learn to be more discreet. And… As for what the scientists are doing to Hiro. You'll have to wait to find out. But don't worry, I promise to not make you wait long. (::)  
**Servo645****:** That's a good kitty! Hiro needs you to stay by his side until Tadashi makes it. And wow! I didn't know that! That's a pretty interesting fact, I just that it had something to do with Tech. Like magnetic servos etc… Now it makes more sense. Hehe (::)  
shooting2stars: Hehe! I'm sure he will. Tadashi's just… in a complicated situation with very minimal things to go by… lets hope he makes it in time to save our poor Hiro!  
**Night Ryder711****:** Nope, sorry but you'll have to wait a few chapters to find out. *Laughs manically* . *clears throat* Anyways, ^_^; Hehe, thank you for your review! ^o^(::)  
**dragonhiro****:** Yay! Thank you! And for the cookie as well! (::)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce****:** *Gasp* IKR! Jesus Christ! Freedom Fighter really KILLED ME! **AzureSynergy**did such an amazing job! It had me biting my freaking fingers off! I wish I could write like that too! ^o^ I'll keep trying! Thank you for the review! (::)  
**teengens****:** YAY! Welcome aboard the fanfic train of FEELZ! (Where we constantly try to stab your heart with arrows made out of despair and emotion damage) XD I agree! Tadashi! Freaking pick up the pace! (::)  
**AnimeWolfGirl16****:** Yes… The project *grins evilly as a shadow falls on my face* You'll be finding out all about that soon… Soon my child… *drums fingers against each other* Hehehehehe… (::)  
**xXAliceBlackXx****:** Well, I try. I hope intense is good ^_^ Thank you for your review! (::)  
**BelieverofManyThings****:** Well, my friend, wait no longer as it is here! Hope you liked it. *thumbs up* (::)

Phew… Okay, things will start picking up again real soon. Hang in there, gummygirls! We can make it. We're almost there! (Thinks to myself: Hehehe… if they only knew…)

O_O

...

Omgosh… you freaking mind readers! You heard that, didn't you? Dammit!

One last thing before I go. I'm guessing a lot of you have exams and stuff right now, so I wish you the **BEST OF LUCK** on your exams! Relax and don't stress yourself out and I'm sure you'll do great! I'll have an extra fresh batch of cookies waiting for you when we meet again after all the big boss battles are won!

Until next time!  
Take care!  
Byeee!

*Fist Bump*  
Ba-la-la-lalaa!


	15. Chapter 15: Tarnished Hopes

**A.N: **DON'T HATE ME! I know it's been too long and I told you guys I'd update in Feb and I'm really sorry! This semester has tortured me more than I'd like to admit. But I'm here and I have a new update for you guys.

A BIG Thank you to all of you who are still supporting me and following this story! I LOVE YA GUYS SO MUCH! You know the grill. Shout Outs at the end of the chapter.

But before getting to the chapter… I have to fangirl about something. And I'm sure you'll fangirl with me on this.

OMG! THERE'S GOING TO BE A **BIG HERO 6 TV SHOW**! YES! YOU READ THAT RIGHT! OMG OMG OMG! I CAN'T! This is too much for my tattered heart to take! **A TV SHOW!** A freaking TV show?! Can you guys believe it! It's better than I'd ever hoped! A TV Show instead of a sequel and that's the most awesomest news EVER!

**A BH6 TV SHOW GUYS!** AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Calm down, Me, calm yourself. *takes a deep breath and passes out*

Enjoy the update while I go and get a hold of myself.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Tarnished Hopes**

"Alright, Takachiho…or Hamada or whatever your name is." GoGo glared, pointing a finger at him accusingly. Even in the dark she could how tense his shoulders were but she couldn't bring herself to care. She hated being lied to. "Start talking, now!"

"Look, how about we get out of this place first." Tadashi sighed. He couldn't be sure who would be listening in on them and he had a grim feeling that their conversation might get out of hand.

_Damn that stupid Pitch! _

They walked in awkward silence till they reached the car. They stood under the street lamp that flickered occasionally. Tadashi held back and stood closer to the shadows. Standing under the spotlight was going to make him feel like he was under some interrogation and Tadashi would rather avoid this all together and pretend it never happened. It was the most nerve-racking moments Tadashi had ever felt in a long time. He was sure waiting for the freaking judgment day wouldn't be this tantalizing.

They stood so the four teens were facing the teen in question.

"Who are you, really?" Honey asked unsurely. She sounded hurt. Maybe feeling a little betrayed… They probably all felt that way… _Who wouldn't, right?_ Her fingers messed with the little loose ribbon that nested around her collar. "Have you been lying to us this whole time?"

_After everything that was said back during the car ride? We thought we'd finally gotten through to you, Tadashi…_

"I… " Tadashi began but he was quickly at a loss for words. He had removed the Fox mask and was feeling surprisingly vulnerable without it. He was itching to put it back on but he couldn't. His fist tightened around the object.

_Yeah,_ he had lied. He had to. How else did he expect to keep him and his little brother safe? It was one of the top rules that he lived by ever since his parents… The less people knew he existed, the better. He'd never had an issue with keeping secret before.

_So, why the hell is it hurting so much now…? _

_How was he going to make them understand?_

Looking at their doubt filled faces left Tadashi's heart aching. Aching for forgiveness…

_For redemption. _

"I'm sorry…" Tadashi whispered dejectedly, wondering why he couldn't muster up something more. _Since when did he start acting this way?_

Surprisingly enough, their expressions softened; even GoGo's . "Why did you lie to us?"

"You… have to understand… I had no choice…" Tadashi looked away; feeling ashamed. "Hiro and I, we've lived our whole lives like this. After my parents died, it was the only way to keep_ them_ from taking my little brother away from me…"

"Them?" The question hung heavily between them. It wasn't going to be answered anytime soon.

Tadashi couldn't tell them yet. Heck! He wasn't even sure who exactly he and his brother were running from. The cops? The CPS? The hundreds of gang leaders in SFB? Some other shadow organization? Pitch Black? They had so many enemies he'd lost count. And now, despite how careful he'd been one of those enemies had taken his Hiro away.

He pressed his lips into a thin line and hung his head in silence. The others seemed to be giving him a chance to explain himself. But he didn't know what to say.

He couldn't tell them that he was planning to ditch them all along. He couldn't bring himself to. Not now that Fred was helping him out so much. After all, who in their right mind would offer up two million dollars for a stranger they just met less than two days ago? Things like that just didn't happen… Not to him at least, but this time it did… And now he owed them too much to just ditch them.

They seemed like really nice people, but Tadashi had learnt the hard why that good things always comes at a price… He couldn't help but wait for the other shoe to drop. It always does. It was foolish to hope otherwise. And yet, Tadashi did hope. He hoped they would help him. He hoped they'd stick around even if he ditched them.

_He needed them_. All of them. He needed them to get his little brother back. He couldn't do this on his own. He needed them so he could hold onto the hope that he desperately latched himself to.

"I don't know who _'they'_ are… But Hiro's gone. Whoever they are, they took him…" Tadashi strained to keep his palpitating heart in check. "H-he's all I have felt. I…I can't lose him."

"We get that, Tadashi... We really do. And we're just trying to help you out so why do you keep lying to us…? We're your friends, aren't we?"

"… Yeah… Yeah, you are." Tadashi cleared his throat. _Damn, it was so hard to talk. "_I guess… I wasn't sure if I could still trust you guys or not. I mean, I still barely know anything about you." _and they hadn't even begun to scratch the surface of who he really was either. _

"Tadashi… we trust you… despite all the secrets and despite the fact that we still barely know anything about _you_. We **trust** you… because… we know you're a good person." Honey said.

"Yeah man, the least you could do is return the favour." Wasabi said as he placed a hand on Tadashi's shoulder. The gesture was supposed to be comforting but it wasn't. If anything it weighed on him more.

"You're right." Tadashi said. After a moment, he began to chuckle softly and swiped a hand through his hair. If Hiro was here, he'd never let him live this moment down. He'd laugh at how girly Tadashi was acting.

"So from now on. No more lies, no more secrets, alright?" GoGo said, crossing her arms over her chest. She glared at him without any real heat.

"… I… can't promise that," He spent a lifetime building up those walls around his heart and mind; he couldn't bring it all down just like that. He couldn't even if he tried. "I still can't tell you everything yet…" Tadashi told them, trying very hard not to look away from their uncertain faces. "Just… gimme a little more time."

Tadashi flicked his eyes from one face to another; trying to decipher their thoughts. His own deep brown eyes were filled with sincerity and was begging them to go with him on this one.

To give him the benefit of the doubt this once.

_To understand. _

"Please…" He added when they didn't respond. He wasn't sure if he could tell them about his brothers powers. He wasn't sure if he could tell them about his past. His life. It went against every fibre of his being. It went against everything he grew up learning.

But he could try... Maybe let someone else share a tiny portion of his burden.

There's always a first time for everything, right?

But none of it would matter if they walked away.

He wouldn't blame them if they did.

He wouldn't stop them either.

He'd understand.

The four teens exchanged meaningful glances. They seemed to have come to a decision. Tadashi waited anxiously. He couldn't remember the last time he left this nervous.

"Okay, deal!" Honey spoke up; smile matching her friends.

"But we do expect you to open up to us eventually." GoGo said crossing her arms. "Don't think you can hide behind that mask of yours forever, Hamada boy."

Tadashi nodded mutely; trying hard to suppress the smile that threatened to grace his face. _Fair enough I suppose._

And just like that, the horrible aura around them had dissipated and Tadashi's chest felt incredibly lighter.

"So what's the plan now, big man?" Fred hopped to stand right next to Tadashi and draped an arm over his neck. "Do we just wait for the creepy shadow dude to call us or are we gonna go do some night vigilante butt-kicking."

"Uh, no." Tadashi said as he maneuvered out of Fred's hold. "You guys are going home and getting some sleep."

"What're you gonna do then?"

"Not sure yet." Tadashi shrugged. Truth was... He didn't know what to do. He had done everything he could think of. There were no leads to follow. If there was one thing he hated doing, it was playing the waiting game. He could go back to the apartment to look for more clues... Maybe they had missed something. "How about we regroup in the morning and figure out where to go from there?"

"Sounds like a plan." GoGo nodded.

"But wait, where are you gonna stay?" Honey asked. Surely he wasn't thinking of going back to his rundown apartment. Whoever took Hiro could come back for Tadashi too.

Tadashi shrugged again. It wasn't like he was going to get much of a shuteye tonight anyway. "I donno yet. Don't worry about it." He waved dismissively.

"Oh hey! I got an idea." Fred jumped and waved his hand in the air above his head. "You could come stay at my _mansion of awesomeness!_"

Tadashi blinked at Fred. He found himself politely declining that generous offer. Besides, Tadashi was pretty sure Fred's 'mansion of awesomeness' was located under a bridge somewhere. Or at least he was until the fanboy turned out to be some sort of a billionaire. But still… he had his mind set on the bridge.

Gogo couldn't let him stay at her place since she lived alone with her sister. Honey's parents would freak if she'd brought a boy home; especially when that boy's on the most wanted list in several states. Wasabi was too wary and already had a roommate to deal with.

Tadashi was touched that they were still trying to help and think of somewhere for him to stay. "Look, I'll manage. It's not like this is my first time out on the streets." He smirked but it didn't reach them.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Wasabi said as he handed the dual swords back to its new owner.

"Like I said, this isn't my first time. I'll be fine." Tadashi said, accepting the weapons and ushered them into their car. "Now please go home. I'll meet you at the Lucky Cat Café tomorrow."

Tadashi watched as Wasabi reversed the car in the slowest most careful way possible until GoGo exasperated and took over.

After seeing the car disappear, Tadashi finally let his shoulders drop. He looked up at the sky and breathed a deep heavy sigh... It was so dark. No stares… no light.

It reminded him of how lousy his life seemed at the moment.

_Once I get Hiro back, everything will go back to normal. _

_Hang in there, little brother. Just a bit longer… _

He wore his Kitsune mask once more before making his way back to his apartment. _The place where he lost everything_. He hid in the shadows, jumped from rooftop to rooftop. The swords that Jack had given him clanked together with each jump he made. It was comforting in some strange way. Tadashi didn't question it. He was just glad it was there.

**_Location: Unknown_**

Time: Unknown

Hiro's half lidded eyes stared into nothingness. He had never before wished himself away as badly as he did right now. He questioned his existence and cursed his powers. The same powers that his brother had called a _gift._

_Yeah, some gift it turned out to be. _

Angry Red marks decorated his wrists and ankles, evidence of his struggles on the strapped tables. They were relentless... They tortured him day and night, although Hiro was scarcely aware of the hours. It just seemed endless. Maybe he was already dead and this was his hell? The hell that he deserved for all the bad deeds he had committed. Jackson was obviously the Devil. _Who else would he be? _

Hiro blinked slowed, and methodically, only to get the moisture back into his eyes. He had grown a lot thinner since arriving here. He looked only marginally better than a skeleton. He wouldn't eat so they fed him with tubes of strange colored liquid. Not that he had enough energy to even pick up a spoon if he wanted.

He remembered when he had only 2 things in mind when he first arrived here. _Escape and Tadashi._ But it seemed, Hiro had long since abandoned the thought of escaping. Even his brother seemed to visit his thoughts less and less.

His brother was fading from him and that scared Hiro more than any needles or blades or drills they used on him.

He found this new found numbness hard to resist. Between the torturous tests and Jackson's love for playing the trigger happy fool, Hiro soon found himself fighting less and less…

Resisting less and less.

And that was what drove the final nail it. It was what finally broke him in the end. His fractured mind no longer processed anything other than to obey Jackson's demands. Willingly or not... It didn't matter anymore. He was never getting out of this hell hole. He went when summoned, no longer needing to be escorted. He retreated back to this white safe haven when no longer needed.

The spark... That fire that made Hiro who he was... Had disappeared. And with it all his hopes fled too. He was nothing more than an empty shell. A drone programmed to do as its master commands. He was nothing more than a shadow of who he was before. His eyes were glassy and distant, black as void; the chocolate brown had long since showed its color. He stared unseeing at the ceiling as his ears picked out the syllables of his name.

Would Tadashi be disappointed in him for having given up? Despite the question popping into his brain at random intervals, Hiro couldn't bring himself to care for the answer... After all...

No one was coming for him...

No one cared...

_Not even Tadashi... _

He had given up.

Hiro closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness to envelope him in its cold embrace of oblivion.

Abigail stood at the threshold of Hiro's cell and looked on with a broken expression.

She had never before seen such anguish in anyone. His eyes were so devoid of life that it pulled at her heartstrings.

This little boy before her was not only broken but he was shattered. She wondered if even his older brother could put him back together.

_How?_

_With so many pieces missing? Where would one even begin?_

Abigail had decided it was best for herself and everyone else if she locked her heart away so she could perform what was asked of her. She thought doing that would help her transform herself into Miss Cruella. Someone who didn't care for the lives of others, keeping her own goals in mind and nothing else but it proved harder than she had ever expected.

Especially seeing Hiro the way he was now. It stripped away the hardness and demolished the tall strong fort she had built around her heart. She sighed and left the poor boy to his peaceful world of unconsciousness.

_Looks like you were too late to save him after all, Tadashi Hamada._

* * *

Please, Don't throw sharp objects at me! Hides under my BH6 blanket.

I wont be able to do the Shout Outs if you kill me... _(Yup, *pats myself on the back for thinking of such an awesome bargaining chip XD* Genius!)_

**SHOUT OUTS!**

**Nausicaa of the Spirits****:** Yes he is. XD *shakes head in disapproval* (::)(::)(::)

**narniac4aslan:** UGH! IKR! Poor Tadashi! And OMG! That song! Why did you have to remind me!? *bawls out crying* And I hope your resolution goes as planned! Thank you once again! (*I hope your loving SPN, next week's episode is making me wobbly SAMMMMYYY!*) (::)(::)

**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** Well, either that or those brick walls were pretty flimsy. XD IKR! Who woulda thunk it? Fred of all people. XD Plot convenience? Most definitely. And yeah… How's your hate for Abi after this one? (::)

**Rosycat:** IKR! Jeez! Imagine a world without those wonderful songs! I cant. Well, I'd still love to fangirl with you! And Thank you so much for the lovely compliments. I try my best. And I hope this chapter catered to your worries. I believe they wouldn't give up on him that easily. (::)

**Dreamer:** You might wanna go back and read your review before reading this one cause its been a while! But seriously though! BEST OPENING EVER! XD You like RWBY too?! That's awesome, man! Well, if you thought there was tension in that chapter, how was this one? I'm glad to hear that! And never will I skip reading your reviews or any reviews! Not when you guys have poured your heart and soul and time into letting me know your adorable thoughts. Well, I regret taking so long to bring you an update. I dearly hope my fic still means something to you and I hope you're feeling better than ever before! And I hope will one day write a fic! I would love to read it despite my tight schedule. Emotions are tricky as hell! Just when you think you have them under control they send you tail spinning, am I right? XD YES! LETS DESTROY THEM! (I shall not even apologize this time for the torment I'm about to bring you…) WOW! That was such a HUGE compliment. I mean, wow! I can't believe you think so high of me. And yeah, I think I's like to keep things PG for my younger more innocent readers. I don't mind getting dragged into the darkest corners of the fandom if that's what it takes to keep my sanity in check. Wouldn't you agree? Doesn't matter if I drown. And your book keeping isn't boring XD And I hope you achieve whatever you set your mind to! I know you can do it! I agree. It's not a bad thing to share your feelings. It's anything but in fact. Tadashi is learning that the hard way, huh? Haha, thank you for the helpful advice XD You remind me of Lily Singh the YouTuber. *HUGS YOU WITH FULL FORCE* (::)(::)

**Purpalz Miner:** IKR! Jeez! All he ever wants is his little brother back and to have some friends and be safe. *shouts at the universe* Is that too much to ask? Also… no I don't know what you mean… O_O And why in the world would I ever think bad of you? (::)

**Starlight420:** Haha! Well, that's Pitch Black for you. And I know what you mean about the loving all the villains *cough* Loki *cough* ^o^ And AHHHH! *fangirl level: 100000* The song Witchcraft is just too amazing! I stood in the bus stop near my college while listening to this song and almost missed my bus! DUDE! I LOVE IT! Once again, I adore your exquisite music taste. Have you heard of 'Hurricane', 'The Kill' and 'This is War' all by 30 Seconds to Mars? If not I recommend you listen to them. For me? Please? Also, Witchcraft led me to discover Tempest by the same band. Do you know that one? And now to address the doubt, he kinda does and doesn't I suppose. It's like this, when he's addressing himself or facing his internal struggles he's Tadashi (the humane one) but when he's more violent and doesn't let his feelings get in the way he's Kitsune. I hope this clears things up a bit. The lines blur sometimes. And thank you once again for your wonderful and helpful review! And I hope you nailed your exams and quizzes and knocked them out of the park! (::)(::)

**Rayne Auster:** Oh right! I had it figured out in my mind, guess I forgot when I put it on paper. I'll go back and fix that sometime. Thanks for pointing that out! *winks* (::)

**CarishTale:** Yeah! But Pitch will never help willingly unless there's something in it for him. And Tadashi would rather take his chances than ask him for anything ever again. And anyone would be for that amount. XD I hope you have a wonderful year! Haha, I'd like to think of myself as a cheerful person whether I really am or not. XD I just wanna make others happy! So I hope I made you happy (my tormenting you with FEELZ) in this chapter. (::)

**Jess K. Reagan:** Your wish is my command. Here you go! Hope you liked this chapter. (::)

**Izi Wilson:** Thank you! I hope this year is a good year for us all! (::)

**Stardustlover:** Thank you. I won't be changing the names anytime soon. Kitsune and Neko it is. ^_^ (::)

* * *

Alrighty, that's it for now! Hope you guys are still with me and haven't given up on me. **Review** and lemme know what you guys thought of the new (long awaited) chapter.

Until next time!  
Byeee!

*Fist Bunp*  
Ba-la-la-lala!


	16. Chapter 16: Unlikely Heroes

**AN: **Yo guys! AND HOLY CRAP! Do you know how happy it makes me to still have so many people supporting this story! I'm so glad I haven't lost you! *Gives everyone of you a BIIIIIIIIG Hug!* Also, who here watched Zootopia and fell in love with Nick immediately? *sings* Raise you hands in the air like you just don't care!*shoots hand up* MEEEEEEE! Lol XD And for those of you who haven't watched it yet, I HIGHLY recommend that you drop everything and go watch it right freaking now!

**Thank you lovelies for all the favorites and follows! I adore you guys! **

As usual about the shout-outs ^_^

And with that, **ENJOY!** I'll see you on the other side...

* * *

**Chapter 16: Unlikely Heroes**

_'__Come here, honey, come meet your baby brother.__'_

_'__Ew__… __why is he so wrinkly, mommy?__'_

_'__Because he__'__s just a little baby, sweetie. His name__'__s Hiro. He__'__s going to be with us from now on. We__'__ll be one happy family.__'_

_'__He has your eyes, Maemi.__'_

_'__Look mommy! He__'__s holding my finger! Look! He__'__s smiling at me! Mommy, daddy, look! He likes me! He likes me!__'_

_'__Of course he likes you, Tadashi. You__'__re his big brother.__'_

_'__Which means it's your responsibility to take care of your little brother, okay kiddo?__'_

_'__Yeah! I__'__ll be the bestest big brother Hiro could ever have in the whole wide world! I__'__ll protect him from everything!__'_

_'__From everything, huh?__'_

_'__Uh huh, I won__'__t ever let anyone hurt __**my**__ baby brother! No way!__' _

_'__Is that so? Well, I__'__m glad little Hiro has his big strong brother to protect him.__'_

_…_

_Chaos _

_Panic_

_Red flashing lights everywhere_

_Fire sharks flying... _

_'…__Tadashi...'_

_Someone was calling him. The voice sounded so far away. _

_'__Tadashi, look at me, sweetie...' _

_'__Mommy? What happened? Where's daddy?'_

_'__Listen to mommy, sweetheart. Listen to me, everything is going to be okay.' _

_'__HAMADA! You'll pay for this! I promise you! You will regret this day! I will make sure if it if it's the last thing I do!'_

_'__Oh God! Tomeo,_ _We__'__re not going to make it!__'_

_'__TADASHI! Hurry, sweetheart! Take Hiro and Run!__'_

_'__Bu-__'_

_'__Go Tadashi! And don't look back! RUN!__'_

**_KAAAAABOOOOOOOOM!_**

"NOOOOOOOO!" Tadashi woke up screaming as he sat upright; his chest heaving. _What was that all about?_

It wasn't like him to have nightmares… And he hadn't dreamt this particular one since he was a kid; since the first few days after his parents…

Tadashi moved his shaky hand from his still rapidly beating heart to rub the sleep and tiredness from his eyes, and then combed it through his shabby hair.

He had come back to the apartment looking for any clues that he might have missed in his panic and hurry the first time. It was late at night; almost dawn even but the alley where Hiro had fought was still dark. The street lamps around these parts were either broken or just didn't work. And since the area was abandoned no one bothered to get it fixed. It was eerie in a way. It was as if a shadow had fallen upon the houses there. It was a good thing Tadashi was prepared. He used the night vision sensors behind his Kitsune mask to look around but sadly despite his best detective skills, the search turned up fruitless.

That was around the time Tadashi noticed how hungry he was. His stomach had been growling for quite some time but he had been ignoring it until he couldn't anymore. He swung by the 24/7 open glossary store to pick up a carton of milk. He hadn't even bothered returning the blushing casher a smile; much to the latter's disappointment.

Tadashi had retuned back to the abandoned building and settled on the rooftop; where Hiro's tech still laid shattered. But not before he had made extra precautions to hide the duel swords. It was the only weapon he had at the moment to fight the unknown enemies.

He hadn't felt like eating or drinking anything; not when he had no idea if Hiro was eating or sleeping well.

_Were his captors treating him right? _

_Were they feeding him anything?_ Knowing Hiro, his little brother probably wouldn't trust anything they gave him anyway.

_Was he eating anything?_

_Was he drinking anything?_

_Was he getting any sleep?_

He couldn't be sure. His brain always took him to see the worst case scenarios. _What if he wasn__'__t? _

_So why?_

Why should he have the luxury of eating or sleeping while his little brother got neither. But he was bone tired and the only way he would be able to continue his search was if he ate and slept and kept his energy up. With that thought in mind, Tadashi had halfheartedly managed to swallow a little of the milk. It threatened to come back up but Tadashi managed to keep it down. After all these years of being so careful, taking every precaution, laying low, training to be the best, he'd still managed to lose the one thing that was most precious to him.

_How could he have failed so miserably? _

_One mistake__… __That was all it had taken for his entire world to come crumbling down. _

_One mistake to make him regret everything. He should never have left Hiro by himself. Alone. _

He should've followed his gut instincts. He should've stayed by his side.

Of course, there was really no point in thinking about '_what ifs_' and '_if onlys_' now. Hiro was gone but Tadashi will get him back! _No matter what!_ Even if he had to die trying, he'd make sure Hiro was back safe and sound with him.

He wouldn't even entertain the thought of Hiro being lost forever_. No! That__'__ll never happen._ Tadashi wouldn't let it.

The rest of the milk went to the little black cat that always seemed to roam around near their former so-called home. He had fallen asleep with the little black ball of fur purring and rubbing its soft body against his skin.

Minor comforts. A Neko of all things…

He fell into a restless sleep, only to be woken up by his buried memories a few hours later.

_Whatever._

It was about time he got going anyway. The little black cat was nowhere to be seen. Tadashi sighed and began making his way to the café where he told the gang he would meet them. He made a quick detour to the living room to pick up a particular blue object.

The chime of the door was the only indication that the Lucky Cat Café had a new costumer. It jingled as Tadashi let the door close behind him. He spotted the gang sitting at a nearby round table almost instantly. He was surprised they had showed up this early. Then again, he was probably a little late and was definitely in need of a long shower.

But still, they were there… his friends.

GoGo was scowling at Fred who seemed to be chowing down more food then Tadashi knew the gangly kid was capable of eating and Wasabi was doing his best not to hyperventilate at the messiness his friend was making. Honey was laughing and presumably taking as many pictures as she could of the scene with her phone that had the most peculiar keychain dangling from it.

_Yup, His friends__…_ the most odd bunch of people he'd ever met. And that was saying something.

He let the smallest of smiles grace his face when they called out to him the minute they spotted him walking casually towards their table.

"Tadashi!" Honey was the first to greet him. She stood up from her seat. "You came! Nice to see you!"

"Yeah, nice to see that you actually showed up, Hamada boy." GoGo spoke Honey's unspoken words.

Wasabi elbowed GoGo subtly and gently. He didn't want to go up against a tornado. He redirected his attention back to the teen in question. "You okay, man? You look a little worse for wear."

Tadashi ignored the harmless little jab from GoGo. He had leaned quite quickly that it was who she was. He didn't mind at all. "I'm fine. Been a long night is all."

"Yeah, speaking of that… where did you go last night? Were you able to get any sleep at all?" _Sure doesn__'__t look like it._

Tadashi's first instinct was to lie. But he fought against it.

_The truth. Start small. Start simple. Start letting people in. Trust them__…_

Tadashi sighed. "Honestly… not much. Kinda hard to get any shuteye when your brain keeps replaying horrifying imagery behind your eyes." He said as he took a seat between Wasabi and Fred. "But don't worry about it. I'm fine. Really." _Well__… __mostly__…_

An ever so eager Fred who was practically radiating with energy turned to Tadashi and spoke. "So what's the plan, big man?"

_Where do I start?_ Tadashi sighed. Better get rid of the small talk and dive into business. "Pitch was right. About you guys. With the way you are now, nothing you do is going to be enough to help me fight these guys… whoever they are."

Everyone nodded in understanding except GoGo, who looked offended. Tadashi held up his hand when she began to speak up.

"Something tells me we're going to go up against some pretty big people with pretty big weapons. In the state you guys are in now, you're not ready." Tadashi pinned the Korean teen with a firm stare. "And that's a fact."

GoGo crossed her arms and leaned back against her seat with a huff. "Fine, so what are we going to do about it?"

Tadashi took a deep breath. _This was it_. They were either all in or not at all. "I'm going to train you."

Fred, being the eccentric teenager he was, was almost jumping in his seat with excitement. Like a child who's had too much caffeine or sugar. "Ohhh! Okay! I like where this is heading."

Wasabi, being the ever the doubtful one said. "Wait wait wait… train us? To fight these guys head on?" He sputtered. "We can't go up against them! We're nerds!

Honey, who was normally very supporting of their new friend had her own doubts. "Tadashi, we want to help but we're just… us."

Tadashi for the first time since they'd met, grinned at them with confidence. "No, you can be way more." They looked a little uncertain but he knew they were intrigued. He went on. "Trust me, I know about robotics. With my help and your inventions, we can create suits with some fire power to help you guys fight."

"YOU MEAN LIKE IRON MAN! YES!" Fred yelled at pumped both his fists in the air.

This of course caused almost all the heads in the small café to turn their way. Tadashi wanted to face-palmed but instead he tugged at the hyper teen's sleeve. "Yes, yes, like Iron man. Now can you sit down and try not to attract any more attention to us, please?"

"Tadashi?"

Tadashi instantly recognized the voice and turned around to meet its owner. "Aunt Cass, hi!"

"Hi!" She greeted him with her usual chirpiness. And as always she was carrying a whole pile of dishes. Tadashi began to stand up to help her with them but she waved him off and said she was fine.

Even though Aunt Cass noticed how haggard the poor boy looked she didn't comment about it immediately. "How are you, sweetie?" She asked, resting the pile of dirty dishes on his hip.

"I'm okay, thank you."

"And your family?"

"Everyone's fine." Tadashi said with the brightest smile.

But the gang knew better. They were amazed at how convincingly Tadashi could put on a happy face and lie through his teeth. Especially about such a touchy subject.

"You look worn out, dear. Is everything okay?"

_Did he really look that bad? Was it really that obvious? Whatever happened to his impeccable poker face? Pitch was right…_ He was losing his touch. He was going soft.

"Everything's okay, Aunt Cass. Promise."

"Tadashi needs a place to stay!" Honey blurred out before she could stop herself. She saw Tadashi's shocked wide eyes snap towards her and then back at the café owner. The others looked at Honey then Tadashi and back as if they expected the latter to fly across the table and strangle Honey Lemon for opening her mouth.

Aunt Cass was oblivious to the anxiousness of the small group. She seemed for the most part, unfazed at the teen who looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Oh, is that so?" She said, sending a soft smile to Tadashi. "Well, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like." She would've laid a hand on his shoulder if they were free.

"No, I-I couldn't…"

"Oh, it's no trouble."

"I wouldn't wanna impose. I couldn't possibly-"

"Oh hush!" She shushed him. She did that more often these days. "I wouldn't mind at all. I could do with some company and besides, the café could use an extra set of hands. What do you say?"

"Um… I would love to help you out, Aunt Cass." Tadashi said as he sent Honey a subtle glare. "But I'm sort of in the middle of something that requires some equipment-"

"Oh, what kind?" Aunt Cass asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"The robotics kind…?" Tadashi wasn't sure if that was enough of an explanation. Of course the café owner wasn't stupid and he didn't wanna sound like he was implying that she was either.

"Well, lucky for you my little sister happened to be a robotics engineer. She used to spend all her nights in our basement tinkering with every little thing before she graduated and moved away. I'm sure all her old stuff are still down there. You're more than welcome to take a look… I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Despite feeling uncomfortable in his current predicament, he didn't completely shun the idea away. He wasn't sure if Aunt Cass had everything he was looking for but he did consider his options. For now, it seemed, she was his best.

Something was better than nothing. And it's not like he'd be here for free. He would help out Aunt Cass with her work too, it seemed only fair after all. And who knows, after all this was over and he had gotten Hiro back, he might consider becoming a regular employee here.

_Wishful thinking, Tadashi__… __Focus__… __Don__'__t get carried away. _

He looked back at his friends, who had encouraging smiles on their faces. Honey above all looked the most hopeful.

And as if to help convince him more, a little chubby ball of fur purred against his leg. Tadashi looked down at his feet to find Mochi, looking back at him with big round eyes. The cat meowed at him and rubbed its body against his ankle. He couldn't help but chuckle.

_Jeez, what was it with him and cats? _

"See, even Mochi agrees with me." Aunt Cass laughed too. "So what do you say?"

Tadashi shook his head at what he was about to say next. "Okay."

Aunt Cass almost dropped the dishes in joy. "Great! I'll make the arrangements. Don't worry about a thing and feel free to drop by anytime, sweetie." She said and strode away as fast as she came; back to tending to her awaiting costumers who had grown extremely impatient.

Tadashi turned back to his friends. "Uh… what just happened?"

"Looks to me like you finally found a place to stay." GoGo deadpanned. "You can thank her now." _'__Her__'_ clearly being Honey Lemon.

Tadashi honestly didn't know what to say. Should he scold her for interfering… or thank her for the opportunity? Probably both. He settled on sending her a tight smile.

Honey seemed to understand and smiled back.

"So what now?" Wasabi asked.

"We're going to be SUPERHEROS!"

Glad to see he's still as pumped as ever. "First things first though. I need you guys to go back to your lab and bring back the blueprints to your inventions. I'll get started on things here."

They all agreed and went to do as they were instructed.

True to her word, Aunt Cass showed him where the basement was and gave him the key to unlock it. He stepped inside the basement and turned on the lights. The place looked like it hadn't been used in years, which was probably the case.

He coughed when dust flew into his nose as he made his way deeper into the basement. Meh, he and Hiro have lived in worse places. This dusty old basement would have been a blessing for them once upon a time.

Tadashi swiped a hand over the computer and clapped to get rid of the dust. He began to turn on every device that was down there to get a sense of which of them worked and which did not. To his surprise most of the machinery was in working condition if not a little outdated. But nonetheless, Tadashi could work with this.

Besides, Hiro had worked with much less. He pulled out his blue book from his back pocket and set it on the desk before getting to work.

The rest of the day went by lightning fast. By the time Tadashi had gotten things ready, the gang was back with their inventions as well as the blueprints.

_All in or not at all__…_

Even Fred brought back almost, if not all, of his Godzilla comic book collection.

They spent the remaining parts of the day, planning and testing some of the tech until it was time for the other teens to leave. They said their goodbyes and headed back to their respective homes. Before leaving Fred handed over the millions of dollars in cash to Tadashi; to which the latter was more than grateful for.

It was almost midnight and Tadashi, of course, continued working even when the whole of San Fransokyo was asleep.

"Tadsahi?"

Tadashi looked up from where he was crouched on the ground over some sheets and stationary. "Yeah, Aunt Cass?"

"Aren't you going to bed, honey? It's late." She had been so engrossed in watching a horror flick with Mochi that she had completely forgotten that the boy was even there.

He cleared his throat. "Ah, I will. Just doing some research." Tadashi loved the way the café owner cared for him. He sensed nothing but motherly love from the kind woman. She hadn't asked any questions about him or why he couldn't stay at his own home or why he suddenly needed a place to stay. She didn't need any answers. She was just there. Supporting him; like his friends. Tadashi truly felt blessed.

_Hiro would love this. Hiro needed this. His little brother deserves this. A home. A family. Friends he could count on. _

_Hiro__…_ There wasn't a moment that went by when he didn't think of his little brother and what he might be going through.

"Well, I made a bed for you upstairs in the attic. It's nothing much…" Cass said as she turned around to leave. "My nephew used to stay there whenever he visited."

Tadashi mulled over the sad smile she had sent him. Her nephew. The one who had died in an accident all those years ago, the one who remembered everytime she saw him… Was that the reason she was always so kind and welcoming towards him? Did it matter?

"Thank you… Aunt Cass."

"Your welcome, dear." She replied. "Good Night and Sweet Dreams."

"You too."

After a few more hours of trying to update the systems software, Tadashi reluctantly called it a night and went upstairs to the attic. The software update would take at least five to six hours. The least he could do was get some rest. He would surely need it tomorrow.

He made his way up the stairs. On his way, he glanced at the many photographs hanging on the wall. Happy faces stared back at him. They all looked so happy. Many photos had a younger version of Aunt Cass in them, smiling brightly beside someone who looked very similar to her.

_Her sister._ He guessed. He came across more photographs with both old people and young. Friends, parents, siblings… And finally, there was a picture with a little boy holding a very tiny puppy to his cheek. He grinned proudly at the camera. Tadashi felt a painful pang in his chest seeing the cute little gap between his front teeth.

He looks just like Hiro… Messy brown hair. Brown eyes.

Aunt Cass said her nephew looked a lot like him. But this picture, who he could only assume was the boy she was referring to, looked more like Hiro than him. He looked exactly like Hiro.

Tadashi raced up the remaining stairs. He couldn't look at the picture any more. His heart was racing. It felt like it would pop out of his chest at any time. He could hear his blood rushing through his veins.

_God! His chest hurt. Hiro__…_

_Calm yourself, Tadashi. _

_Stay in control. _

_You__'__re not going help anyone by having a panic attract. _

He concentrated in slowing his heart down. Trying to think about something else. He needed a distraction. And fast!

Just then, he heard tapping sounds. It sounded like something sharp hitting a smooth surface. He looked around the room, trying to identify where the noise was coming from. His breath came out in puffs.

After a few seconds he finally found it. He pulled away the curtains from the window and to his surprise found Baby Tooth hovering there.

_Jack. _

Tadashi opened the window, allowing the little flying robot to zoom inside before closing it. Baby Tooth fluttered around the room a few times before finally settling on a lampshade next to the bed Aunt Cass had made for him.

"You got anything for me?" He asked; not really expecting the thing to reply with its own voice. Baby Tooth was just a messenger after all.

The little hummingbird robot made a few squeaky sounds and immediately opened its eyes like camera shutters and began projecting a hologram. It was a hologram of Jack.

_"__Hey Tadashi, hope you__'__re doing okay, you know, all things considered. I got you more information on the mystery symbol we talked about. Don__'__t get too excited though__… __No one__'__s willing to talk about it still.__" __Jack__'__s holo spoke. _

_"__I__'__m actually considering asking Pitch for help.__" __He joked. __"__Just kidding__… __Don__'__t go near that psychopath. I__'__m serious.__" __Jack wore an uncharacteristic serious expression. _

_'__Too late__'__._ Tadashi thought bitterly.

_"__Listen Tadashi, this Rising Dawn project. Whatever its intended purposes are, whatever they want with Hiro__… __Don__'__t go after them alone. Do you understand? We are talking about some very dangerous people here.__" __He continued. _

_"__But I didn__'__t send Baby Tooth all the way there to tell you something you already knew. I have a name. Maybe he can lead you to the big guns__… __You might know him. His name is-__"_

Whatever name Tadashi was expecting Jack to say next, it was never this one.

_"__-Robert Callaghan.__"  
_

* * *

DUN DUN DUNNNN!

Alright, that's it for this chapter. As for Tadashi's and Hiro's parents, I found that _Maemi _and _Tomeo _are their actual names. *wink wink* Plus, I think the names suits them even though they didn't get to appear in the film. A little cryptic sneak peek at Tadashi's past... Hope you liked this chapter guys!

Now for the _**SHOUT-OUTS!**_

**Jess K. Reagan:** As you wish it, so shall it be! (Did I say that right?) XD (::)(::)(::)  
**Narnaic4aslan:** The feeling's mutual. Always a pleasure talking to you as well. ^o^ Thank you for the wonderful comments. (::)(::)  
**Rosycat:** Don't worry about cable. It'll eventually end up on YouTube or somewhere else on the internet... I mean, IT IS the internet after all. XD And no, I doubt Disney will work on a movie sequel AND a TV show sequel at the same time. Unfortunately, BH7 is just a rumor as well as Tadashi being alive... Sorry... hang on while I go sob in a corner from denial... Also I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. I did replace the chapter... I have a weird OCD against odd chapters. Thank you for not killing me! I love ya! (::)  
**Guest:** And it's my pleasure to hurt your soul! MUHUHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! I'm not sorry cause I know exactly what you mean. And that is exactly the reason I will never abandon this story or any of my stories for that matter. Thank you for the wonderful review! I hope this chapter was a little soft on your poor soul. (::)  
**SparklingBlizzard16:** XD Haha, maybe you were reading it in a hurry. Which AN are we talking about again? Ohhhhhh! This is about the crossover thing. XD Lol, I'm dumb for not understanding that. Sorry XD Yeah. Like I said. It's not a crossover with ROTG, the characters are just making in and out appearances. And pfffft, tell me about it! JACK IS THE AWESOMEST! (My username should tell you how big a fan I am *wink wink*) (::)  
**Servo36:** Awww... I shall never stop, my sweet little kitty! *hands you a soft Hiro plushy* Here, until things start lightening up. You need it more than I do. Thank you for the kind review! (::) *cookies and milk too* You deserve them.  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** I hope as time goes, she helps out... I'm super glad you felt that way. Tbh, I was extremely nervous about it. I didn't know if I conveyed it convincingly enough. But seeing your review made me very happy! Thank you for the wonderful review! (::)  
**write that wrong:** Neither of the brothers can in this fanfic, huh? My god, am I meanie or what? Yeah, you can tell he's not used to it. XD Thank you for the review! (::)  
**shooting2stars:** These are the questions I'm asking myself at the moment but shhhhh... let me pretend I know the answers... Wait, what do you mean this is a public review? You mean everyone now knows how clueless I am and I don't know what I'm doing?! Gawd dammmit! XD Oh well, in any case, hope you liked this chapter! (::)  
**lambtastic:** Ugh! Don't you just HATE it when the bad guys get what they want? It's the most unfair thing ever... And its life sometimes. We just have to make the most of it, grit our teeth and let it go. But you know what else is life? Its knowing that the bad guys will eventually get what's coming to em. ^_^ (::) And Abigail... Oh Abigail... I don't know what to say... Who's side are you on?  
**KungfuKittyKat:** But that's what makes the gang who they are, don't you think? And did you look it up? Aren't you excited!? OMG! I literally CANNOT wait too see the awesomeness that's about to happen with the TV show. I can see SO MUCH POTENTIAL!  
**AnimeWolfGirl16:** I had only found out about it two or three days prior to that update myself. ^o^ It was the BEST news ever! And yes... Who knows what he's going to be like... *gives you a evil creepy smile* (::)  
**Guest2:** I'm guessing you meant you really like this fic? Awww, thank you, sweetie! Here's a cookie! (::) I hope you liked this chapter!

And with that I shall bid you guys adieu! Thanks again for sticking with me! *Last hug*  
Until next time!  
Byeee!  
*fist bump*  
Ba-la-la-laaa


	17. Chapter 17: Reluctant Retreat

_**A.N:** OMG! Guys! How am I not dead when you keep blowing me away with your brilliant responses?! How do you guys have so much power over me? No idea! But that just makes me wanna crush you all with a huge hug and do the best I can for you and make you laugh and cry and everything in between. Am I really doing you all justice with this? I really do hope so! I don't wanna let you guys down. _

_**A BIIIGGGGG THANK YOU to all those who've Favorited and Followed! LOVE YA LOVELIES!** _**  
**  
**ENJOY THE CHAPTER, ME PEEPS!****  
**

* * *

**Chapter 17- Reluctant Retreat**

"The professor?" Tadashi thought out loud.

"I don't know how legit this Intel is though. But the 'Callaghan' name keeps popping up everywhere. It's pretty much the only thing I was able to find. Anyways, stay on guard and be careful." Jack's holo said. "You know how to contact me if you need to. And don't be shy to ask for help. Tooth and I are always here. We want the little midget back as much as you do. See ya around."

The hologram fizzled out as Baby Tooth's shutter eyes closed back into black orbs once more. Tadashi watched as the little robot zoomed past him and hovered over the window sill. He walked over to it and opened the window to let it out.

He watched as Baby Tooth zipped away; disappearing into a dot in the sky. The cool nightly breeze swept over his clammy skin.

_Callaghan! Of all people!_

_Someone right under his nose!_ Anger once again took over his mind.

"Looks like the good old professor is in need of a visit from the friendly neighborhood Fox." Tadashi said as he pulled out his Kitsune mask from underneath his jacket and put it on.

**_Miles Away- _**

The _'__Ready to heat and eat__'_ lasagna bowl rotated methodically inside the microwave.

Robert Callaghan stood in front of it, holding a cup of coffee to his lips and taking small sips from it. He placed the coffee mug back onto the counter and sighed heavily. It had been a long day at SFIT. With finals coming up soon he had a lot more work pilling up at his desk now more than ever.

SFIT was a prestigious school. A school reserved only for the best and brightest kids of the world. But with that much honor and reputation came a huge burden… _How did the saying do again? With great power comes great responsibility or something like that?_ Well, Robert could somewhat relate that to his current situation. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with one swipe of his hand.

But it didn't help wipe away the huge black bags under his eyes though. He still had a ton of papers and projects to evaluate. But that wasn't what was making his hair turn white.

It was his daughter; _Abigail._ He hadn't received a single phone call from her since that day she called him in a hurry to tell him that she won't be coming home for a while and to tell him not to worry about her. She gave him no other explanations_. None._ Before he could even ask her any questions he was met with only static and a monotonous dial tone.

He had tried calling her back many times but in vain as she never answered even a single one of them. Despite her reassurance, he was beginning to get really worried. Especially since that strange incident that had happened at Krei Tech Industries a few days ago. It was still all over the news. He desperately hoped his precious daughter hadn't gotten mixed up in all that mess.

The sharp ding of the microwave startled Callaghan out of his troubling thoughts. He removed the glass bowl from the machine and scoped the food onto another container. He picked up his dinner as well as the coffee and made his way over to the living room.

The first thing he noticed was that all the lights were out. _'__That__'__s strange, I could__'__ve sworn I__'__d left them on._' He thought to himself as he placed the food onto the coffee table and made his way to the switches and flicked them on and off repeatedly. It didn't work.

Callaghan grumbled under his breath. _Great._ _Now how was he supposed to eat in the dark?_ The only reason he was able to see anything at all was because of the dim lighting from the street lamp outside. _So it isn__'__t a black out either__…_ He deduced.

The next thing the college professor noticed was the open windows. _What the hell? Hadn__'__t he already closed them? Had he forgotten?_ No, that was impossible. He was sure he had locked them up and drawn the curtains even.

_Then what in blue blazes is going on? _

_Was it a robber? Had someone broken in? _

He grabbed an empty porcelain vase from the nearby shelf and slowly made his way over to the breezy window. The curtains flew inwards but the wind was making the cloth look like it was possessed by a ghost.

Callaghan's heart was racing. He held the vase above his head shakily in one hand while he pulled the curtains away with the other. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a white blur came hurling towards his face. He yelped and fell backwards; pulling the coffee table cloth down with him.

Callaghan looked like he was about to have a heart attack. He blinked a couple of times and calmed his breathing enough to realize that the white blur was actually just a stupid cat.

"Stupid cat…" He whispered to himself as he got back up. _There goes his dinner for the night__…_ The lasagna as well as his coffee was all over the carpet. He winced. That was definitely going to leave an ugly stain. _Dang it!_ He once again cussed at the cat that was sitting on the window sill.

The sleek feline tilted its furry head at him and meowed. Its piercing gaze sent shivers down his spine. Its striking blue eyes flickered and it shrieked as it leapt out the window.

Callaghan barely had time to turn around when he was suddenly thrust face first into the nearest wall. His body was smashed against the wall so forcefully that he was sure it now had cracks in it. _Or was it his ribs that were cracked?_ He couldn't breathe and he still didn't even know who his attacker was. He was panicking… _no__…_ panicking was an understatement. He was absolutely terrified.

"W-who are you?"

"I'm someone who you're going to wish you never met."

"Please… J-just take what you want and go. D-don't hurt me. I won't call the cops I promise."

"What I _want_ is answers." Kitsune growled from behind his mask. He had the professor pined to the wall by his neck. A little more pressure in the right area and the man's neck would've snapped.

"W-what answers?"

"Let's start with what you know about Project: Rising Dawn."

"Project what? I don't have a clue what you're talking about. P-please, if this is about the exams-"

"Shut up! Stop pretending!" Kitsune yelled and pulled the old man away from the wall only to slam him back onto it.

But this time, the professor's back hit the wall and if the masked criminal wasn't holding him up he was sure he would've slid down because his legs no longer had the strength to hold him up any longer. _God! It felt like he'd broken his spinal cord. _

But now with him coming face to face with his assailant, Callaghan broke into cold sweat. It was one of the KuroTsume Brothers. But what could he possibly want with him? What had he done to grab the bother's attention? He had heard nothing but dangerous stories about the pair. Especially the older one of the two: _Kitsune._

Kitsune was the colder of the two. More straight-forward and brutal. More lethal. They say anyone who goes head to head with him never comes back out without a scar; that is assuming they ever make it out at all.

Callaghan didn't want to be one of those people. He still had a life. He wanted to live. He still had to look out for his beloved daughter. She's still so young. He wanted to live to see her get married one day. He wanted to live so he could pamper his future grand kids. He wanted to discover more ways to break the laws of physics and explore the endless possibilities of science. He wanted to help mankind achieve great things. He wanted to live and grow old with his work. He still had dreams. Unfulfilled ones. He didn't want to die. Not like this.

Not by the hands of a murderer.

_A cold blooded killer. _

He had to somehow escape. He had to survive. He had to live!

Callaghan tried his best to dislodge the fist that held him by the collar but in vain.

"Stop squirming and answer the damn question!" Kitsune roared as he slammed the man in question against the wall once more. He could do this all night. He would do this until he got the answers he was looking for.

"I don't have the answers you're looking for! Please, just leave me be!" The professor begged. He frantically looked around. There had to be some way to escape. All he had to do was find it. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't anything in arm's reach that he could've used as a weapon.

_Wait a minute. The pen! _

The pen in his breast pocket! He'd put it there a few hours ago when he was still correcting some papers. He had absentmindedly kept it there before heading to the kitchen to reheat the lasagna.

Callaghan quickly grabbed it and made a hasty jab at his attacker.

Kitsune was far too experienced to let an amateur get the better of him. The pen itself wasn't a very good weapon but if used properly even that could be an effective tool. He let go of the professor just in time to avoid the pen sinking into his arm.

_Maybe not as amateur as he thought..._

Using the temporary distraction to his advantage, Callaghan made a mad dash towards his front door. He tripped on the folded edge of the carpet but manged to catch himself from falling over completely. He yelled for help with all his might. Praying that someone would hear him and come to his rescue. He turned to look behind him as he ran. He couldn't help it. It was an involuntary action. The fox masked figure didn't seem nearly as agitated as he felt. He seemed calm. Dangerously calm. Callaghan grabbed the nearest thing he could find; in this case the landline and hurled it at the older KuroTsume Brother.

Kitsune seemed to be least affected by the turn of events though. He swiped the flying object to the side with a clean swipe of his arm. He had a very visible scowl on his face.

Callaghan made it to the front door; all the while still yelling his lungs out for help. But alas, just as he reached for the nob he was grabbed by the back of his coat and

"That's it. Last chance to give me what I want. Or your dead." came a cold emotionless threat.

Callaghan's eyes widened into impossible saucers as he saw Kitsune pull out a gun from behind him. He gasped and flinched when he felt the cold metal tip touch his forehead.

"No more games. Tell me what I want to know. Now."

"I-I don't know what you want from me, I don't have any answers. Please, please, just let me go! I have a daughter. She's already lost her mother. Please! I'm all she has left! Please don't kill me!"

Kitsune's grip on the gun faltered ever so slightly as he watched the professor he used to look up to begging to be spared.

Something in him stirred. The Tadashi side of him. The empathetic side of him.

_I have to save Hiro... _

_He's all I have left. _

The Kitsune side of him told him to show no mercy. It was his alter ego of sorts.

When he dawned on the mask, it was like he'd transform into a different person even though he was still fundamentally Tadashi. He still felt the turmoil of emotions a normal person would but it also gave him the courage and determination to do things that an ordinary person would usually refrain from doing. He could afford to be emotionless and cold while under the mask. The fox mask was like a shield against the judgemental ways of society. It was a barrier of indifference for him.

No. This had to be done. It was the only way to save his baby brother.

_Everyone else be damned._

Tadashi would go through a hundred million people and more if that's what it took to get his brother back. Mask or no mask. That's who he is. That is what he had become.

Kitsune's eyes narrowed behind his mask as his eyes flickered to the broken photo frame that had fallen nearby. It was a picture of the professor and a young woman dressed in graduation clothing holding onto her certificate. That must be his daughter. Both of them looked as happy as can be. The woman seemed to be laughing at the camera like it was the best day of her life.

_Whoa... Hold on. _

That face.

_Where have I seen that face before? _

The wheels in Tadashi's head began to turn. It was right there! The information was just out of his reach. He could feel it. He had definitely seen her somewhere before. He grabbed the photo frame and thrust it in front of the fallen professor who was still pathetically begging.

"Who is she? What's her name?"

"T-that's my daughter... Abigail."

_Hold on! _

Suddenly it clicked. He remembered where he had seen her! She was one of the two people who had kidnapped Hiro. She was the one who was carrying him in the chopper. He was sure of it.

_Dammit, how had he taken so long to recognize her!?_

He snapped back to the distraught man lying beneath him. "Where is she?"

"I-I don't know!"

Kitsune was about to make another threat when he heard the sound of sirens getting closer.

The SFPD! Someone had called the cops!

He had to hurry. "Tell me where she is or you're getting a bullet through your heart!"

"I don't know where she is." Callaghan cried. He glared at the other man. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" He could hear the sirens too. They were so close. Maybe this was the day that they would finally catch one of the most wanted criminals in all of San Fransokyo.

But Kitsune didn't seem nearly as bothered as he should be. He looked to be more annoyed than scared.

"You have less than two seconds to tell me." Kitsune said in a low snarl as he re-positioned the gun to point at the professor's frantically beating heart.

"Leave us alone! We've done nothing to you! Plea-"

**BANG! **

Callaghan cried out as unbearable pain shot through his body. He withered in agony on the floor as blood seeped from his shoulder wound. Tears left his eyes freely as he continued to beg for his life as well as for his daughter to be left alone.

Kitsune repositioned the gun once more but before he could do anything else the loud bang of the front door breaking open had him springing to his feet as he shifted swiftly to face the police.

"Freeze! This is the SFPD! We have you surrounded!" One of the cops yelled as he trained his gun at the KuroTsume brother.

He could feel multiple red dots on him. On his mask, on his chest, on his stomach. One wrong move and he was dead. And yet Kitsune couldn't help but scoff at their attempt.

_Cute.  
_

* * *

_Jeez... Tadashi really loses it without Hiro or his friends, doesn't he? So yeah, you get a glimpse of the Tadashi before he met the gang and after he lost Hiro. _  
_I wonder what's going to happen to him in the next chapter... What do you guys think? Will the SFPD finally be able to catch the notorious Kitusne? Lemme know, I always love hearing your theories. ^_^_

**SHOUT OUTS TIME!**

**Daydream wonders****:** Yes, I agree. Dammit Tadashi! Hiro doesn't have the time for you to be getting caught by the cops. HURRY! (::)(::)(::)  
**Guest1:** *le gasp* I can't believe you compared one of my chapters with the greatness of Zootopia. Now that is high praise. I surely don't deserve it. I hope you liked this chapter. (::)(::)  
**Guest2:** No problem! Here's another update! Sorry for the long wait. (::)  
**Guest3:** Yes, we're all sadistic little devils, aren't we? We love seeing our beloved characters crumble. I'm glad you liked the update! (::)  
**CarishTale:** DEFINITEY! Dammit! I'm gonna go watch Civil War with my BFF tomorrow and dammit I WANT WAIT! THIS MOVIE IS GOING TO KILL ME! (::)  
**xXSayomiKimitsukiXx:** For some reason, I read that as "All out of love" and the song just immediately popped into my head and now it won't leave me alone. So yeah, thanks for that XD (::)  
**tswims:** I hope I do too! Sorry for the late update. Life… *sigh* Nothing new there… But I'll try my best to post regularly! (::)  
**Starlight420:** Yay! Your back! And I agree, protective!Tadashi is the best ^o^ And yes, you will always and forever hold the place for helping me with making my story better! I went back and changed them just like you said. Thank you very very much. Also, the thing about Tadashi calling Aunt Cass.. Well… Aunt Cass, I kinda left a tiny piece of information back in one of the earlier chapters. Also, about Pitch, you'll have to wait and see what his agenda is. Stay tuned! ^_^ (::)(::)  
**Rosycat:** Well, I'm still wary about the movie… I don't wanna get my hopes up and then have them crush it underneath their giant yellow boots. But I shall still hope nonetheless. GIVE IT TO US ALREADY! STOP PLAYING WITH OUR EMOTIONS DISNEY! Lol, yeah, better strap in too… Next chapter is gonna be a doozy… (::)  
**potatoesandmolasses:** The only version of "Safe and Sound" I know is the adaptation by ME vs Gravity. Check them out if you like. (I heard their version first and fell in love cause of the awesome rock part of it during the chorus) Btw, nice find! That's a perfect song now that I think about it! You deserve extra cookies for that! (::)(::)(::)  
**Dreamer:** Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed all those little details I added in there. But your not the only one who needs to re-read the chapters. Life's just got me spinning in circles and I also have this other story to concentrate on and I'm just a trying to get everything back under control. So even though I have all the big stuff planned out in my head, bringing them all together and tying it all up with a neat bow is gonna be harder than I thought. So as for your theories (All pretty good ones I must say) will have to wait for any sort of confirmation from me… All I can say for now is all in due time, my friend. AND DUDE! How's your own story going? I have to know! (::)(::)  
**SomebodyAwesomeSauce:** Awww… really? I made you cry!? *scolds myself* Bad, Mushu! *goes and sits in a corner* I shall reflect on my bad deeds now. Thank you for the sweet compliments! *blushes* And lol, sorry, didn't mean to creep you out with the little baby tooth thing. Here are some cookies to make you feel better! (::)(::)  
**AvaniAcrux:** GAH! So sorry for the late upload! Forgive me! And I'm so honored that you actually binge read this entire story. Now that is really something. Thank you for giving this story a try too. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! (::)  
**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Fingers crossed that I'll be able to pull it all off. Jeez! It's gonna be a lot of work. And here you go! One brand new chapter! (::)  
**Russia says hello:** *squeals with you* I KNOW! Wish me luck! (::)

Take care guys! Don't be shy... Remember,** reviews fuel my dark twisted soul! **  
Until next time!  
*Fist bump*  
Ba-la-la-laa


	18. Chapter 18: Forsaken Justice

**A.N: **No! Please! I just came back alive! Don't kill me! I know its been a really really long time since I updated this one and I apologize for that. As you might all understand there's this super annoying thing called LIFE! And as much as I would love to ignore the hell out of it; I can't. It's been really really hectic this entire year. Ugh. How am I still living?

As a formal way of apologizing I made this chapter extra-long and I hope you guys will forgive me! *bows*

And for those of you who are still sticking with me through this, you have my utmost appreciation. **I LOVE YOU GUYS!** You make me achieve things in life. And you give me the inspiration and motivation to finish this story. Reading all your reviews just sorta…rejuvenates me. It's hard to explain the feeling. I donno, but I just really wanna thank all of you for it! Here are some pre-shout out cookies for ALL OF YOU!

[[(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)]]

**A WHOLE DAMN BOX!**

**THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED AND FAVORITED THIS STORY!**

_**WARNING: **This chapter kinda contains some violence. Consider yourself warned._

_Also, my knowledge on how this whole police thing is based off of what I've seen in movies so I hope its accurate enough to be realistic._

And now… without further delay. Here is the next chapter. **ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Forsaken Justice**

They were right,

He _was_ surrounded.

But that didn't matter. They weren't going to stop him.

_Nothing _was ever going to stop him.

With adrenaline and fire pumping through his veins, Kitsune launched himself to attack. His body was a blur of movement and within a span of four seconds the three cops were down and out. Two of the cops had passed out and the third one held onto his throat and made horrible choking noises.

Kitsune didn't wait for him to stop. He bent and took the three guns from the cops while tucking his own away. The only weapon he had brought with him was his colt which he knew wouldn't be nearly enough.

He preferred swords over guns in general. Guns ran out of ammo. Besides, he was more skilled with a blade than a gun anyways. Close combat was his thing. But he'd left the swords Jack had given him somewhere safe and hidden. He hadn't thought there would be any need for them this time.

_Stupid! _

He chided himself as he turned to face even more police officers coming at him. _No. Not police officers. The SWAT Team?_ He could see beyond the door that there was a bunch of police cars with police officers pointing their hand guns at the entrance as they crouched behind their open car doors.

_Huh, looks like the whole cavalry's here. _

_For lil' old me? _

Kitsune was honestly flattered that they would call the entire police force as well as the SWAT team to take him down. He cursed under his breath for the second time that day for not being prepared enough. After all those lectures and earfuls he had given Hiro about always taking extra precautions and to always expect the unexpected, he does exactly the opposite now.

Kitsune knew that whatever decisions are made when emotions were involved were dangerous ones. They're never rational. For him, rational thinking goes out the window whenever his brother was thrown into the mix. He knew that. He knew that Hiro was his weakness. Always has been. He couldn't think straight when his brother was in trouble. He held no patience. It was always shoot first and ask questions later.

_Yeah, that's exactly what landed you in this situation, you idiot! _

There was no one to ground him.

Kitsune concentrated on calming himself. He would never be able to rescue Hiro if he got caught… or worse, if he died here. _No! That can't happen._ He'd kill every single cop in San Fransokyo before that happened. But rage was not going to help him win this one.

_He had to calm down. _

_Slow his heartbeat. _

_Focus_.

With a deep breath and exhale, he was ready. He stood before the squad with his head bent low. The two guns in his hands pointed at the floral carpet under his feet. His eyes were closed behind his Fox mask. When he opened them, anyone could tell, even with the mask on, that they were stone cold and calculating.

_And lethal. _

Even the most elite team in all of San Fransokyo was no match for Kitsune at that moment.

Kitsune dived and rolled forward once before launching into the person closest to him. He knocked away the riot shield long enough to point one of the guns at the man's head and pulled the trigger.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

Blood flew everywhere. Splattering the walls. Staining curtains and the carpets.

He ducked low as another man came at him and shot twice, shattering the man's kneecaps. He didn't wait to watch the injured man go down. He aimed the butt of the gun at another man's throat while simultaneously shooting at the others point blank. He caught hold of one of their shields and used it as leverage to jump high above them all. He didn't hesitate as he fired the rest of the bullets at their shocked faces. One by one; they all went down. He hid behind one of the dead men's shields as they fired back at him.

Kitsune used the close spaced environment to his advantage. He went at them relentlessly; never giving them an opportunity to get the upper hand even once. His fighting style was far superior to theirs. Plus he had to protocols or rules he had to follow. They had no hope of defeating him like this. Of course, he wouldn't dare get cocky.

_'Self-confidence will help you win. Overconfidence will get you killed.'_ He had told Hiro once a long long time ago.

Kitsune shook his head clear as he waited behind the shield for them to stop firing.

They could've used a smoke grenade or tear gas or something to flush him out into the open. But they wouldn't dare. Not when a civilian was still trapped in the house. The sounds of gun fire and orders filled the night. He noticed from the corner of his eye that some officers were helping a barely conscious professor escape. He didn't make a move to stop them.

He got what he wanted from the man. He knew the man had nothing else to offer him. He was sure the man was too traumatized to talk any further anyway. Kitsune couldn't care less whether he lived or died.

Besides, now he had a solid lead.

_Abigail Callaghan. _

For the first time since Hiro was kidnapped, he felt in control.

Once the firing had slowed a little, he fired back and threw away the useless gun and grabbed the machine gun near him instead. He moved forward in a dash but instead of shooting directly at the men with the shields, he fired above them at the ceiling and chandeliers.

Dust and debris filled the room. Everywhere around them lights exploded, glasses shattered and furniture broke. It was a cacophony of shouts and yells and gunshots. Kitsune grabbed the outstretched arm of one of the officers who was trying to shoot him with a shotgun and pulled him forward before driving a knee into the man's face. He broke the dazed man's arm and flung him towards the others.

Kitsune was moving faster than the eye could see. His movements were sharp and deadly. He was a force to be reckoned with. His attacks were brutal and flawless. He used their own moves and weapons against them. He swiftly kicked, ducked, punched, rolled and fought with the ferocity of a wild animal.

And just like that, the fight was over as abruptly as it began.

The house was a total wreck. Not a single spot was clear of blood or gunshot holes. The plaster on the walls had chipped off and was replaced with dripping crimson wallpaper. The sticky smell of copper and iron filled the air.

Small specks of dust floated peacefully around the room like living orbs glowing from the flood lights outside.

Kitsune stood slowly but didn't straighten his stance all the way. His mask and clothes were splashed with so much red that it seemed as though the color of it had changed entirely. He took a second to survey his surrounding before making a fast crouch run to one of the windows in the front. The glass had shattered at some point during the struggle. All the men and women who were sent to apprehend or kill him were lying limp on the floor; either gravely injured or dead. It didn't bother him. They were in the way. He had only done what was necessary.

He slowly peeked outside the edge of the window…

… Only to find the front yard filled with a _god damn army._

Kitsune huffed in annoyance.

He had never before seen so many cops and police officers in one place before. He also saw helicopters hovering over the scene with beams as bright as daylight targeted towards the entrance of the house. He saw many news reporters and press vans standing far beyond the safety line and no doubt stirring up the media and creating some uproar and drama. He saw civilians too. No doubt trying to film the whole ordeal and post it online as some of the cops pushed them back and away. He had zero doubt that the back of the house was the same.

He pulled himself away from the window and leaned on the tattered wall beside it. He could hear them making threats and demands with their microphones outside; asking him to surrender. Telling him he had no chance at escaping. It was the usual bullshit cops spewed at criminals. He could tell they were getting agitated with every word.

The fight wasn't over yet.

Far from it in fact.

With a sigh of regret, he briefly wondered if it ever would be…

_God, how the heck had things gotten so damn complicated? _He didn't mean for things to get so out of hand. He closed his eyes and banged his head on the damaged wall.

Once… Twice…

_Keep it together, Tadashi. _

To think, all he wanted was information.

All he really wanted was to save his baby brother from a fate that he didn't deserve. A terrible fate that was written for him since the day he was born.

It wasn't fair.

_None of this was fair… _

**_That's life._** A voice whispered to him in his head.

He gritted his teeth with such force that his gums hurt. Wherever his little brother was. Whatever tortures he was going through and enduring. Tadashi would trade places with him in a heartbeat.

Hiro was his light. His salvation. His purpose for living. And he'll be damned before letting anyone or anything take it from him.

With that resolve, he stepped through the threshold of the house and into the light as the fight for survival began once more.

**_Somewhere else- _**

_Riiiiing… Riiiiing… Riiiiing… Riiiiing… _

"Ugh, you better have a good explanation for calling me at this hour, or I'm knocking your teeth out when I see you." Gogo grumbled as she answered the phone. Her eyes still shut and voice sounding thick with sleep.

"Turn on the news."

"What for?" Gogo grunted grumpily as she rubbed her eyes. Despite herself, she was already reluctantly flipping her comforter away and getting out of bed. She took the phone away from her ear long enough to see what time it was and scowled at the person on the other end. "Are you insane? It's freaking way past midnight."

"Just do it," the male voice on the phone pleaded. "Hurry."

"Alright, fine." GoGo turned on her flat screen television and flipped though the channels and stopped when she reached the one that read **'LIVE'** and a highlighted red bar that notified '**BREAKING NEWS'** at the bottom. Her eyes widened and her jaws went slack. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What do we do?" Wasabi asked with uncertainty.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to go there and kick his stupid Hamada ass!"

_**Back at Callaghan's front yard- **_

Captain and chief, Officer Delgado slammed his fist into the wall of the metal van beside him. "Dammit!" He cursed. Their attempts at capturing the notorious Kitsune wasn't proceeding as planned. And it pissed him off. He was the one sole being who was responsible for this mission and he was failing at it.

He had sent all his best officers into the field to apprehend the criminal and yet; it was proving futile. If he didn't do something immediately, the KuroTsume brother would get away. And he couldn't have that. The mayor of San Fransokyo had given him full authorization to use any means necessary to bring the national criminal in.

He had been delighted. If he succeeded in this mission, he would be known all around the world as the one who had finally brought down the criminal that no state in the country ever could. He would be famous! All that glory would've been his. And he would be able to stand proud knowing that he had helped the world become a little more safer with one more major criminal permanently off the streets.

But seeing the fight transpire before him; he wasn't sure if that goal was even achievable at this rate.

_No… This… This wasn't a fight for justice. _

_It was a god damn massacre. _

This entire night was spiralling out of control. So many of his officers dead; so many others injured beyond help. All because of one fox masked bastard on a rampage.

He had to put an end to this.

They had to use their secret weapon. It was the only way.

Delgado couldn't let the death of so many officers be in vain.

Kitsune was going down **_tonight!_** He would personally make sure of it.

_**Kitsune's POV-**_

The fox masked teen had taken temporary shelter behind a cop car. A police officer lay dead at his feet; blood leaking from a hole in his left temple.

Kitsune had managed to take down majority of the police force even as they came at him from all sides. There wasn't all that many left. It still didn't help decrease the annoyance or frustration or hurt he felt. The helicopter with the flood beam light still hovered over him. The news crew still continued to take reports.

Kitsune would be lying if he'd said it was a piece of cake. He had nearly exhausted all his energy trying to evade them. He was running on fumes now. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping him awake and standing at this point. His torso, abdomen, arms and legs… everything slowly began to scream at him to take notice. The pain from various regions of his body was trying to make themselves known as persistently as ever.

He concentrated on pushing them down long enough for him to get away from this place and to safety. He had to get away before the dull pain elevated to unbearable agony.

_'Just hang on a little while longer.'_ He mentally coached himself. "…For Hiro…" He whispered wearily to himself.

With a burst of speed and energy, Kitsune leapt away from the vehicle he was hiding behind into the closest targets available. Two things happened at that moment.

Kitsune ran forward to gain some momentum and jumped down to a skid so he could first disarm the officer with a kick before snapping his neck and killing him. The cop barely saw it coming and fired a few shots at his attacker but that wasn't what caused Kitsune to jerk away as pain exploded in the left side of his head.

Another officer; a woman with wild brown eyes and a determined look on her face had aimed a gun at his face and had fired when he had neared her partner. She yelled a feral battle cry and fired a few more times.

Kitsune barely snapped out of his shock in time to dodge those bullets. Both exhaustion and pain were slowing down his reflexes. Pure fighting instinct was the only thing that had saved his life just now. He rolled to his feet and spun around to face her. He breathed heavily and one of his arms seemed to weigh him down as it hung limply by his side. The top left side of his fox mask was shattered. The mask was now missing a full ear and half of its eye hole. Blood matted Kitsune's hair and slid down his face and jaw. The fingers of his useless arm twitched as drops of blood slip down them and onto the road.

Kitsune was about ready to collapse. But he couldn't. Not now. Not when he was so close to victory. Not when he still had a little brother to save.

He willed himself to move faster than he had ever before. Being out in the open like this left him far too exposed. His eyes focused on the female officer who was a major threat at the moment. She took top priority. Unlike him, she stood still and sharp; a gun trained on him with an unwavering resolve.

"It's over, KuroTsume Kitsune. Put your hands in the air and surrender and I won't have to pull this trigger." She barked; her voice sounding as strong as iron. But her angry narrowed eyes widened in confusion at the blood drenched man's response.

_He… He was laughing. Kitsune was actually laughing… _

It chilled her to the bone.

Kitsune stood there; his stance arched backwards. His one useful hand covered the top portion of his face and his mouth stretched as he uncontrollably laughed to his heart's content.

She sent a quick look at her partner who seemed very much as confused as she was. When she looked back at Kitsune; much to her surprise and fear; was no longer there. He was a blur of black and red as he moved lightning fast and was right in front of her in a matter of split seconds.

She choked out a sob as his good arm shot forward to wrap his fingers around her throat. He brought his knee upwards to meet her stomach and threw her to the ground. She barely had any time to react or catch her breath as he swung his leg in a wide arc towards her head. The force of the blow was enough to snap her neck and she died with a shell shocked expression forever etched on her face.

The cop who was her partner stood horrified and silent. He was petrified into stillness. He couldn't move. _God, his partner…_ He'd worked beside her all his life. They were friends since college and graduated together. They had worked hard; each trying to out-class the other. All those years of banter and playful roughhousing flashed into his mind. Her beautiful alert eyes, her chocolate brown hair, her blinding smile… all gone. She was gone. His best friend, his lover, his wife.

He saw Kitsune picking up his partner's gun slowly. With a broken cry, he tightened his grip on the gun and swung it upwards.

He was shot dead between the eyes before he could even take aim.

Kitsune looked at the two fallen couple near his feet with dead uninterested eyes. He breathed a slow sigh as his eyes blurred. Either from exhaustion or tears, he wasn't sure.

He knew he still had to fight a few more people to get out of this mess. He had to kill some more. He knew he was already way past his endurance. His legs were shaking and barely kept him upright. His eyes stayed unfocused longer and longer as he tried to blink them clear. His right arm was useless; he could barely feel it anymore.

His mind had almost reached its breaking point. The reality of his situation was starting to sink in no matter how hard he had tried to supress it.

He had killed so many people on this night. So many fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives. So many people with a family. With a life to look forward to. This night had secured a new record for the number of kills he had on his hands.

_Now the whole world knew… _

He briefly wondered why no other cop had come forward yet. He was aware that they were close by but why weren't they attacking him? Were they scared?

His eyes snapped wide open when the ground below him shook. He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance and turned to the source of the mini earthquake.

_Holy… Freaking… Shit… _

Slowly making its way towards him was something Kitsune could only describe as a war machine with millions of missiles attached to it. The thing was damn scary. The opaque glass case in its center no doubt held a person. The huge bulky arms were as long as its entire body; the ends shaped like claws. Its legs were twice the size of its arms in terms of bulk as it came to a stomping halt a few feet in front of Kitsune.

Kitsune lowered himself to rest on one of his knees as he took a defensive stance to face the metal monster. He had only one thought in his mind as the machine dashed forward.

_I. Am. Screwed._

* * *

TADASHI! ARE YOU GOING INSANE!?

Well...

I was in kind of a hurry to finish this chapter and get it out to you guys and so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. I did my best to beta it but if you still find any mistakes, lemme know. *looks at Starlight420* Lol.

**SHOUT-OUTS!**

**JessHRMikaelson:** Why, thank you! Here's the update. Sorry it took so long. (::)(::)(::)  
**Sparkle:** Tbh, its kinda killing me too. But I don't wanna rush the story or it wont be fun for anyone. ^^" (::)(::)  
**narniac4alsan:** Some more Dark!Tadashi and Zootopia references (If you caught that) and as for Hiro… Well… uh… *rans away as fast as possible* (::)  
**CarishTale:** OMGoh! I KNOW RIGHT! *fangirls* WHY IS HE SO HOT! UGH! I CANT TAKE IT! Also… yes… Hiro… Um… *runs away again*(::)  
**Guest1:** Oh gosh! Thank you! *blushes* I sure hope your still with me and even I had to re-read the entire thing to get back into the flow so yeah, it happens. I AM ALIVE ONCE MORE! Lol, hope I didn't cause you too much of an inconvenience. Also, if you thought Tadashi was scary in the last chapter… I wonder what you thought of him in this one. *evil laughter echoes* (::)  
**Russia says hello:** And the next chapter is HERE! Hope you enjoyed! And I hope I made you happy again. (::)  
**Dreamer:** Tadashi keeps surfacing now and then but the situation he keeps finding himself in always keeps pushing him down. As for your theories from the last chapter I cant comment on them yet since I haven't uploaded that part of the story yet. Once I do, I'll let you know. And I just adore how well you understand the depths of my version of Tadashi/Kitsune. ITS SO WONDERFUL TO READ AND IT GETS MY BRAIN JUICES FLOWING LIKE CRAZY! And I am hearing you! I promise! I won't doubt myself again. ^_^ Thank you for that. I think I really needed it. Lol, also, I PM'd you and I hope you got it if not, lemme know. I hope I didn't freak out any readers with this chapter. Kinda wanted to show you guys that even though Kitsune has made a name for himself and Neko, deep down; he's still human! So yeah, and again, don't worry about your reviews getting too long or me being overwhelmed. I enjoy reading long rants and theories. So keep em coming! (::)(::)(::)  
**Zoeii Anime:** YAY! Such joy! Hope you loved this one as well? (::)  
**Noxburry:** Hey, what can I say, badass Tadsahi is my thing XD I mean, I love bad ass Tadashi like no other. HE. IS. SO. DAMN. HOTT! But yeah, I kinda have a soft spot for injured Tadashi too. (::)  
**Tadashi-the-demigod:** No, he doesn't. Lemme know which part confused you and I'll clarify. And yes, was this level of ballistic enough? Lol, I KEEP TELLING YOU I'M EVIL AND SADISTIC! THE SONG HAS RUINED ME AND IT MUST RUIN YOU TOO! See, didn't kill him. He's extremely traumatized but he's alive. ^_^ So, very interesting name. XD (::)  
**Iron Rose Writer:** YESSS! *pumps fists in the air* A 9 out of 10 is more than I've ever scored irl. I THINK ITS TIME TO PARTY! ^o^ (::)  
**Jathagarth:** I kinda assumed the part where Hiro gets kidnapped was a default thing. I mean, I wasn't trying to hide it. Lol. AND NO! Just cause you're a stranger does NOT mean I take your reviews lightly. I take it to heart and I shall try my best to make it better and do you guys justice! Your reviews mean a lot to me! Please don't ever thing otherwise. I will work hard to improve! Count on it. (::)  
**Guest2:** Heeeerreeeee you goooooo! ^o^ (::)  
**Starlight420:** Oh! It's okay I understand. I HOPE YOU HAD FUN ON VACATION! I can never hate you! And yes, writing Tadashi and Kitsune and balancing their constrasting characters is kinda hard for me at times. The question of… 'where the hell is the damn line' always keeps popping into my head when I write about him. And as for Hiro and Abi, you'll have to wait a bit longer I'm afraid. AND YES! I'm improving! No mistakes! I think I'm gonna go have some chocolate to celebrate! ^o^ As for your suggestion, I have taken it into consideration but you'll have to wait to find out what I do with it. Lol, yes, I'm Satan. XD YES YOU HAVE HELPED FUEL MY DARK SOUL! (::)(::)(::)

And with that, I shall bid you all adieu.  
Until next time guys!  
LOVE YOU!  
PLEASE REVIEW! It really really helps me get through some days.  
*fist bumps*  
Ba-la-la-la-laa!


	19. Chapter 19: Pitiful Remorse

**A.N:** I stared at the word 'Chapter' for like two whole minutes before realizing that there was nothing wrong with it. THAT'S THE STATUS OF MY MUSHED BRAIN RIGHT NOW!

Here's another update after... about a month. Jeez, I'm sorry it took so long you guys. This thing called life keeps getting in the way of my happiness and I'm honestly just waiting for this year to end. Everything will be okay after the New Year starts. (Sure, keep telling yourself that, me)

**A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO FAVORITE AND FOLLOW! YOU ALWAYS AND WILL FOREVER ROCK! LOVE YOU!**

Another special reason I wanted to update both my fics today is cause... Today is my birthday! And I wanted to treat all my wonderful readers with this. I mean, its the least I could do right now! Please bear with me! I know its not much.

CAAAAAKKKKEEEEEEE FOR EVERYBODY! (Do not question my baking skills, I'll stab you with this knife in my hand)

**[# ~ ~ ^ ^ ~ ~ #]**

ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 19: Pitiful Remorse**

GoGo skid to a halt near the area that was filled with so much commotion that it almost made her dizzy.

_What the hell was going on here? _

People were screaming and running away outward in all directions with the officials helping them and trying to maintain order. She looked around for her friends but they were nowhere in sight. She was the first of them to arrive here. Wasabi had offered her a ride but who knows how long it would take for him to get here with his '_snail-like'_ careful driving skills. She had to hurry and get here as fast as possible so she had taken one of the only prototype electromagnetic suspension bikes she had at home. It wasn't as fast as her latest prototype but it was faster than Wasabi's car even at full speed.

GoGo let the bike fall to the ground with a clunk and she dashed forward headlong into the crowd that rushed like a river against her. She somehow managed to evade the cops and elbow her way to the front and came to an abrupt halt. Her eyes widened at the chaotic sight in front of her.

Huge chunks of grass from the yard were missing; seemingly burnt off. The water hydrant to the far side of her professor's house was destroyed and water poured everywhere. The fences that separated the houses were all wrecked to nothing more than splintered bits. Police vehicles were parked in odd angles all around and some had very prominent dents in them. A few people in blue were dragging unmoving bodies away from the scene.

"GoGo!" She heard one of her friends call out but she barely paid any attention to them because all of her focus was concentrated on the scene before her.

What GoGo saw made her stomach turn and it was all she could do to not look away.

It looked nothing like what she saw in the news.

Kitsune was trying his best to dodge the claws that kept coming at him. He ducked and rolled and jumped as best he could. So far he was doing okay but he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. His right arm was still limp at his side. His vision was blurring more and more now and the ever growing pain in his abdomen was increasing by the second. He couldn't stop to analyse any of his injuries. He was sure he'd either be caught or killed if he did so.

He panted erratically as his knees became weak and his legs wobbled. He rested for just a moment before pushing himself off the ground with his left arm and rolling away just in time for an explosive to land where he was seconds ago. The blast sent him flying a few more feet away from where he had planned to land.

He stumbled to a stand and raised his head to meet the metal monster that was causing him so much trouble. He had to find a way to beat this thing with injuring himself any further. He had to get find a way to break the opaque glass. But how?! How was he going to win when he had nothing left? His body was barely listening to his commands anymore.

_This thing had to have a weakness!_ Every machine had a weakness. Something blind spot he could exploit.

_Dammit! What could it be?!_

And that's when he realized it! _Of course!_ Kitsune mentally kicked himself for taking so long to notice. He blamed it on his drifting consciousness.

Going by the structure of the giant robot, the length of its arms and the placements of the mini missiles, Kitsune was sure if he placed himself right above the robot that it would have no way to fight back; at least not without inflicting some amount of damage on itself.

Now all he had to do was get behind it and climb to the top as quickly as he could. He continued to run in a wide arc around the tin can but stopped as though a freight train had crashed into him at what he saw on the other side of the battle field.

Or rather, _who_ he saw.

His brown eyes widened behind his half broken mask as he saw his friends mirroring the same distraught expression he wore. They gaped at him as some adults pushed them back to safety.

Kitsune paused.

He paused and hesitated… because the shame and regret he felt for what he had done nearly stopped his heart right there.

So he paused…

And that one mistake nearly cost him his life.

"LOOK OUT!"

Kitsune heard one of his friends call out over a cacophony of noises. He saw it coming but he couldn't do anything about it. He was frozen. Besides, even if he had moved now it wouldn't help much.

Kitsune felt a bone crushing blow as one of the huge metal arms of the robot rammed into his chest and he was sent flying backwards.

He felt as though he was floating in some sort of void for entirety. He strangely felt nothing; no emotion, no pain, before his back met with a cold hard surface and everything came rushing back.

His mind reeled from the overload of emotions and the agony his body was feeling. He wasn't aware of the people's cries around him. He wasn't aware that he had landed on one of the cop car's windshields and had nearly shattered the glass in the process. He wasn't aware of the giant robot stomping closer to him. He wasn't aware of anything anymore.

He forced his eyes open and looked up at the sky. He didn't see any clouds; neither did he see any stars nor the moon. He did see something though.

He saw his brother's face. He saw Hiro grinning down at him with an adorable gap between his teeth.

_"Dashi! Play with me!" _

_"Why don't we ever go to school like the other kids?" _

_"Tadashi… What happened to mom and dad?"_

_"C'mon Tadashi! It's just a little trip across town. It'll be fun!" _

_"Look at what I made, Tadashi! Isn't it the coolest?!" _

_"If it wasn't for me… You wouldn't have to... to take care of me all the time."_

_"You could go to school and have friends. You wouldn't have to stay in dumps like this. You could have a life."_

_"Yeah! We made it! Fist bump!" _

A tear leaked from the corner of his exposed left eye as Tadashi stretched his working arm out to the sky and closed his fist around the hallucination of his brother. As though somehow, by a miracle, he would get him back. Hiro must be so scared right now. _So lost and alone._ Without Tadashi by his side to comfort him.

_'I'm so sorry, little brother. I'm so sorry I failed you.' _

He was hurt. He was wounded and broken. His body was shutting down and he couldn't even move anymore.

But just when he thought it was all over, something strange happened. Everything suddenly went completely dark.

It was puzzling because Tadashi was sure he hadn't passed out…_yet_ and his eyes were still open.

The night was darker than any night had ever been before.

_But why…? Why was everything so black? _

He tried to move his head sideways and noticed that not only the sky but literally everything around him had become pitch black as well. This was not normal. That's when he hears an echoing laugher that sent chills down his spine.

The last sound Tadashi heard before he succumbed to the realm of unconsciousness was the laughter of a mad man's victory.

**_Somewhere Miles Away-_**

"Sir? You asked for me?"

"Ah, Abigail. Just the woman I wanted to talk to." Jackson said with a coy smile as he gestured to her. "Come in. Have a seat."

"How's our little guest doing?" He asked, clasping his hands together and rested them on the desk in front of him.

"Subject HT 229B is responding incredibly well to the treatment thus far, sir." Abigail reported trying to keep the hesitation out of her voice. She hated to refer to Hiro as some series of letters and numbers but she had no choice. She had been a little nervous when Jackson had summoned her. She fidgeted a little with the papers on her clipboard before handing it over to her boss. "We'll have him ready for the final procedure in a couple of weeks."

"Hmm…" Jackson accepted the stack and examined them patiently; flipping sheets back and forth occasionally.

The silence was getting incredibly uncomfortable for Abigail and she began to fidget more. She nearly jumped out of her seat when he spoke again.

"I'm pleased with the results, Abigail."

But before she could breathe a sigh of relief he spoke again.

"But… There's been a slight change in plan. Weeks? Is that what you said? Better make that days, my dear."

"Wh-what? Y-you can't be serious… Sir, we're already going as fast as we can. It's a- a miracle that he has even survived for so long after what we've put him through." She said leaning forward and resting both her hands on his desk to emphasize her unspoken plea to leave the poor child alone.

His mind has already shattered beyond repair… Physically, he's on the brink as it is. They'd only barely managed to keep him stable enough to progress. She was starting to think if this devil of a man even wants Hiro to live. His tortured screams would reverberate through her very soul for the rest of eternity. His tears of blood would be etched into the back of her eyes forever. She would never be able to forget the agony she helped put him through and this man wants her to inflect more?

_Hell!_ She didn't get why Jackson even needed her. He sometimes over looked the cruel experiments and simulations himself. He had to understand that Hiro wouldn't last much longer under these ruthless conditions.

"If we push any harder… We… This won't work."

"Then make it work!" Jackson suddenly roared; standing up with such force that it knocked his leather chair down.

"But sir-" Abigail tried even though she knew it was pointless.

"If it's the incentive you're looking for, Abigail. I've got plenty." Jackson says maliciously. He turns around with a remote control ready in his hand.

A projector screen descends from the roof behind where he stands and immediately starts playing a recorded footage.

Abigail nearly stumbled out of her seat. Fear grips her heart tight as she stammers and tried to get her voice to work. "What… What is this…? That's my house."

Her fear turned to anger and she shot him a stern glare. "You promised me you wouldn't hurt my father as long as I worked for you. You said you'd leave him alone!" She yelled at him in anguish.

"Oh sweet child…" He responded with an almost sickeningly sweet tone. "I'm not the one who hurt your father… He did." He forwarded the footage to show Abigail the whole ordeal until the screen went black and only static ensued.

He watched her as she sat there shell shocked. A cruel smile played on his lips. "Seems like big brother's catching up to us faster than we anticipated."

Abigail didn't speak a word. She didn't even bother rubbing away the tears that flowed down her cheeks.

"The faster you're done here, the faster you can go home to daddy."

She looked up at him when she finally found enough courage to speak. "H-how is he…? He… He's not-

"No. He's alive." Jackson assured her. "For now."

The underlining threat had not gone unnoticed. "If that's not motivational enough for you, I don't know what is." Jackson laughed at some inside joke that only he understood.

"You- you're a monster." Abagail glared.

"So it's been said. Now get back to work. And report back to me every day. Remember, I want faster results, my dear."

Abigail grit her teeth as she nodded and left his office.

Jackson watched her go with a smirk.

The end was nearing. Blood rushed his veins just thinking about it.

_The promised day!_ His legacy! His redemption would be glorious!

And it was all thanks to the little Hamada brother who was going through hell itself a few stories below his office.

_Soon…_

It would all be over soon.

**Outside Jackson's Office-**

Abigail strode towards the elevator and stood inside it with a grim expression on her face. She pressed the button of the floor she needed to get to and leaned against the back and crossed her arms over her chest as the metal box began to descend straight down.

She had to do _something._

She was sick of idly standing by as these cruel experiments were subjected onto Hiro. She couldn't take it anymore. Her hands shook even as she tightened them around herself. She took a moment to calm herself by closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Her mind was a frenzy.

She felt her heart ache at the thought of choosing between the brothers and her father. The only thing that had always stopped her from helping the Hamadas' was the safety of her father. The thought of her father going through all this trouble pained her so much.

She would never forgive Tadashi for what he had done to him.

_But could she really blame him?_ _But how…?_ It was her fault after all. It was because of her that her father's life was in danger. Not Tadashi's. Her father was in this situation because of her.

She wouldn't tolerate it anymore. This had to end. And finding a way to help Tadashi was the only way out; _for all of them._

Jackson's threat on her father's life was still hanging heavily on her mind but that only helped motivate her more. She had to find the best and most subtle way to get her message across to the older Hamada brother without getting caught.

There was no room for error as it would mean the end for all of them.

**She. Would. Not. Fail. **

Abigail exited the elevator with a determined look on her face.

_'Just hang on, little Hiro. I will find a way to save us all.'_

**In Some Unknown Location-**

When Tadashi opened his eyes it was still as dark as a black hole. He couldn't see a thing in any direction. He tried to sit up but he couldn't feel his body. Panic gripped his heart as he began to struggle against invisible bonds until a voice stopped him.

"Relax…"

"P-Pitch Black?" Tadashi breathed as he gave up his fight and sagged. Not out of relief but out of exhaustion. He felt so disoriented that he didn't know if he was sitting or standing or lying down. It didn't know which way was up or if he was awake or if this was all some sort of an illusion. He couldn't even see where Pitch was. His voice just seemed to float all around him like an echo. "Wha-"

"Well, you seemed to take your own sweet time to meet up so I decided I'd come pay you a visit instead."

"How thoughtful of you…" Tadashi replied sarcastically before a grimacing. "What are you doing here…? Where am I? What happened?"

"I'm not here to answer all your pointless questions, Kitsune. Besides, don't you want to hear the answer to the question you've been longing for all this time?"

"Answer…?"

"Yes. Think hard. I'm sure it'll come to you."

_That's right… _He'd gone to Pitch for help, hadn't he? "Hiro… Where is Hiro…?"

"Ah yes… that's the one."

"You… know where he is…?"

"I do."

"Then tell me!"

"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast, Kit. First I want you to acknowledge what you've accomplished tonight. I know you haven't let the whole reality of what you've done sink in yet."

"I don't… I-I'm not-"

"I want you to embrace the darkness, Kitsune! Let it take over! Let it control you as it did tonight! Let the hatred towards those petty people fester in your soul. Set yourself free! Join me now and I shall help you end all this suffering."

"Don't!" Tadashi bared his teeth. He heard whirling and clicking sounds around him fading in and out. He could've sworn he also heard faint neighing noises amongst them. But he paid no attention to them. "Just tell me where my brother is!" He began struggling even more. _Or was he?_ He couldn't feel his body. Everything except his mind felt so numb. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get a good barring on where he was or what was going on.

_Why did everything feel so jumbled? _

"This** love** you have for your brother will be your undoing, you know… People like you and me, mass murderers; we don't need friends or family." Tadashi could almost hear the scowl in Pitch's voice.

"I'm nothing like you…" He growled.

"That's where your mistaken, dear Kitsune. We **are** alike. If only you would give in to the darkness. You don't need love. You won't want it… Love is a distraction. To you, love is like a bullet to the brain."

"You're wrong."

"And you are misguided. I mean, just look at what you've achieved! I couldn't be more proud."

"You're a sick monster."

"Flattering me won't help your cause, you know. Although, the complement is appreciated."

"Just tell me where my brother is."

"…"

"Please…"

He hears a silent sigh before the voice speaks. "Perhaps you've heard of a place called Akuma Island? There's a research facility there. How much are you willing to bet sweet little Neko's there?"

_Akuma Island- also known as Alcatraz. Oh, he's heard about it alright._ "You're sure? He's really there?"

"My shadow bots are everywhere. They hear and see everything. He's there, I assure you."

Tadashi's heart began racing. He finally knew where his brother was. This was it. No more waiting around.

"I wouldn't recommend you running off to the little kitty's rescue just yet." Pitch said as if he could hear his thoughts.

"Why not?"

"That facility happens to have an army at their disposal. If you think you can just waltz in there, you're wrong." Pitch said. "But if you joined me, we would be unstoppable. It would so easy to save little Neko. Then, **no one** would dare cross paths with you or your brother. Both of you can live free. I can make that happen for you."

"No."

"This is your last chance to accept this generous offer, Kit. You won't be able to save him on your own. Especially not with the help of those ridicules bunch of teenagers."

"I'll take my chances."

"Very well. All in due time I suppose." Pitch said slowly. "But I will tell you this, dear Kitsune. Be wary of your enemies. Trust no one."

"Is that concern I hear in your voice, Pitch? You're not actually growing a heart, are you?"

"You wish, boy. I'm just making sure my investment stays alive long enough to fulfill his debt."

_Don't forget our little deal, Tadashi Hamada. _

The voice echoed one last time near his right ear as the air around the young man suddenly got thicker and heavier and Tadashi knew no more.

* * *

Yup, so that's it for today. I left the last part with Pitch and Tadashi a mystery on purpose. I'll leave it to your imagination to come up with what or how it went down.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next but I promise not to make you wait too long.

AND NOW FOR THE...

**SHOUT OUTS!**

**JessHRMikaelson:** I hope so too! (::)(::)(::)  
**Rosycat:** Told ya it was gonna be a doozy. And lol, cute Kitsune? Really? After everything? XD Thank you for the review (I was kinda afraid this chapter was too violent but it had to be done for what I have planned later) Also, when you mean missed, are you talking about the chapter 17 review? Cause I only got that on on the 26th of July. So this is my response to that. I got two reviews from you, one for chapter 17 and one for 18 and this is my shout out for both cause I got it late I think… I'm not sure what exactly happened BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET TO REPLY TO YOU! BELIEVE IT! (::)(::) And more cookies for both reviews (::)(::)  
**narniac4aslan:** Yeah, poor Tadashi has so much to deal with… Just hang in there a little bit…longer Tadashi! I'll make it okay! (Will I though?) (::)  
**CarishTale:** *Fangirls* IKR! AHHH! Tadashi with a katana is to die for! KKYYAAAAA! I had wondered which weapons to give him in this fanfic but in the end the dual swords won out. (I felt I knew how to write the dual swords battles better than a katana battle) AND OMFG! Choi Siwon is TADASHI IRL!? I'm crying! WTF! I found this one particular picture of him and HES THE SAME! And now it's my wallpaper. Thank you so much for telling me about him. I donno how I went through life not knowing! ^0^ Also, please hang on to your non-grey hair, Hiro will join us soon. (::)  
**Russia says hello:** Ugh, it has actually. This entire year is just so stupid, I'm waiting on 2017 to make it all better. I'm pulling through though! Thanks for your concern. And thank you for reviewing! (::)  
**IamTheCaptaindammit:** Oh gosh… I never know what to say to a negative reviewer. Umm… I'm sorry you didn't like this story? Uhhhh, to be fair, I did leave a warning in the beginning of the chapter AND this is an AU. I'm not gonna give you any 'lame responses.' But I will say this- don't take life so seriously man, it's just a story. And no, I don't live in the US, hence; I don't know what you're talking about. (I live under a rock please don't kill me.) Sorry. Next time though, maybe you could try and be more constructive with your criticism? And last, I'M SORRY IF I OFFENDED YOU! (If you really want to understand why Kit/Dashi did what he did I think Dreamer has explained that really well. Not forcing you or anything but you could give it a read. I recommend it, it might really help) Again, I'm very sorry for offending you. Umm… cookie? To make it better? (::)  
**G2BattleConvoy:** Ugh, tell me about it. What I have planned for them is just going to tear your hearts out (It's tearing up mine just thinking about it…) And thank you! I'm glad you liked it. (::)  
**Dreamer:** You know it *wink wink* Thank you about the italics thing. Honestly I'm not sure myself. I just go with what my gut tells me. GAH I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR AWESOME THEORIES but I'm afraid I might accidentally reveal something unintentionally. Also, I think you have analyzed Kitsune's character too perfectly. You understood exactly what I was trying to convey in the 5th paragraph of your review. I applaud you, friend. It was definitely worth the wait. Thank you for the wonderful review! The gang's reaction will be shown in the next chapter, so stay tuned. Also thank you for the second review! ^_^ It means a lot! You're the best! (::)(::)(::)  
**Hiro is my mate:** *blinks with puzzlement as the smoke clear away* Well, um, thank you very very much for all this delicious food! Hehe, BE BACK TO SAVE HIRO! He doesn't have much time! Don't take too long!  
**Guest 1:** Why, yes I am. Thank you :-P (::)  
**Guest 2:** Of course! As I've said many many times in the past. I will never abandon this fic. The updates might be a little slow I sincerely apologize for that. (::)  
**Mistress of the Words:** Oh! Thank you very much! You don't know how much I needed this boost. (::)


	20. Chapter 20: Rapid Recovery

**A.N:** Hey guys!

I'm back!

And alive and kicking (somehow…) Alright, SO BEFORE YOU SCOLD ME AND THROW BOMBS AND MISSILES AT ME…

A super-duper, mega-large, extra-long chapter to make up for my sins! TA-DA! (No but like, seriously, this is the longest chapter I've ever written for any fanfic...)

Am I forgiven yet…? Please tell me I am… Uh... A box of Cookies...? [(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)]

Now I have to be forgiven... Right? RIGHT!?

Now, I know I'm a bit late but **HAPPY NEW YEAR** TO EVERYONE! You know what this means? It means, we survived 2016 and 2017 is gonna be great! ^.^ I hope each one of you out there have a very wonderful, joy filled year ahead.

_A big thanks to all the awesome peeps who are still sticking with me for this story!** I love you guys!**_

_Thank you to all of you guys out there who've Followed and Favorited (even though I didn't update in a LONG time.)_

_And most of all, thank you to the people who've reviewed and reminded me how much fun it is to write this story. Your thoughts and support and faith is very very appreciated. ***Crushes you all in a HUGE group hug***_

Okay, without any further delay. I'll let you read the chapter.

ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 20: Rapid Recovery**

Tadashi wasn't sure when he had regained consciousness but it was almost tempting for him to sink back into oblivion when the pain hit him.

He groaned as he tried to move. _God, everything still hurt like hell._

He was unaware that he hadn't even opened his eyes yet until they snapped shut again from the uncomfortable brightness. He breathed a small grumble and fluttered his eyes to let them slowly adjust to his surroundings.

What he saw had never confused him more in his life.

_"What in the world…?"_

The first thing he noticed was that he was lying down on a soft comfy bed with extra plush-y pillows. He stared up at a pink tinted glass ceiling; his own reflection stared back at him. He curled his fingers against the _'Ninja Slayer' _comforter that was blanketing him. He pulled it off him and only then noticed the IV that was attached to his hand. He followed the tube to its source and found a pouch filled with some liquid that was suspended on a stand to his right.

He tried ignoring the vertigo that hit him when he tried to get up. Once the dizziness passed, he finally managed to prop himself up using his elbows before sitting up all the way. He grunted as he grabbed his stomach and bent over in pain. He panted and waited for it to pass before kneading his forehead with the heel of his palms to help get rid of the splitting headache.

Once he was sure he wasn't going to pass out, Tadashi began to look around more. His eyes widened into saucers at what he saw; his pain temporarily forgotten.

The whole room was littered with so many colorful objects that it made his head spin. He first noticed a huge fish-like alien creature hanging from the ceiling among other things. He then saw a big model of a creature similar to Godzilla to his left and a dragon to his right. There was a note hanging from the Godzilla's neck but from his angle he couldn't make out what it said. He then saw shelves upon shelves showcasing maybe hundreds; if not more; comic books. He also saw a few arcade machines. He didn't recognize any of the games it displayed. He turned to look at the numerous action figures that stood in various poses on the opposite set of shelves. Some were small but others were human sized. He also saw a bunch of different masks pinned to the wall adjacent to his bed. And a large screen TV mounted to the wall beside it.

He saw many other things but shut his eyes before he became too overwhelmed by it all.

_Oops. Too late…_

He was going to throw up for sure. What kind of a psychotic place was this anyway? It didn't look like any hospital he'd ever seen.

Perhaps he hit his head too hard somewhere and it scrambled his brain?

Tadashi breathed slowly and rubbed his tired baggy eyes before continuing to survey the room. His instincts took over and he began to look for all possible entries, exits, hiding spots and objects he could use as weapons if need be.

_Who lived here? More importantly… Where the hell am I? _

He wasn't very well versed in modern pop culture and felt extremely disoriented and out of place in the room he was currently being held in.

His mind only seemed to answer his questions with even more questions that it was almost maddening.

He gently prodded his left shoulder; which seemed to be bandaged up pretty well; his torso as well. It hurt a lot less now. He sighed and rubbed his face with both his hands before laying them down on his lap.

_What the hell is all this? _

_What happened…? _

And with the end of that question came a torrent of violent memories flooding in like a tsunami of the previous night.

**… Professor Callaghan… his daughter… the SWAT team…all the police officers he had killed…the monstrous machine… **

**_His friends…_**

_Oh god… What had he done? _

He was almost at the point of hyperventilating as he roughly pulled at his hair in anguish; the pain in his body was replaced by the agony in his mind.

The dark side of him had completely taken over. And he had _let it._

The room became blurry as tears freely ran down his cheeks. The faces of all the people he had murdered in cold blood flashed before him.

He didn't mean it.

He didn't mean to kill them.

_'What does it matter now…? They're **dead!** You killed them! You killed them **all**' _a voice echoed at the back of his mind.

_'No! Wrong…! It can't be…' _He cried to himself._ 'Argh! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong**!**'_

Everything about this situation was wrong!

Tadashi openly sobbed as guilt and self-hatred took over his mind. Sure, he had killed before, but he had never felt this level of torment for any of them before. They were bad people. They did horrible things. They meant to harm his little brother… they had what's coming to them. He did what he had to in order to protect what was his.

But these people… They were innocent. They were only doing their jobs. They were doing it for their families; for justice. And he hadn't even been merciful towards them.

The regret he was feeling right now…? It was killing him from the inside.

He gasped_. What would his parents think of him if they saw him now? Saw what their beloved son had become. They would scowl in disgust at what he'd done. They wouldn't be proud…They would be upset._

_They would be disappointed. _

_'But it was Hiro… It was the only way' He pleaded with his heart. _

_'Excuses… They're all just excuses.' The voice mocked. _

Hiro…

_What would Hiro think? Would he even look at him the same after this? _

_'It's who you are meant to be… Just give in… and all your despair will be no more.' the voice said; each word resonating through his skull over and over again. _

**_NO!_**

Tadashi shut the voice out. His whole body shook uncontrollably as soul-deep cries wracked him. "I'm sorry… I'm… so…so… sorry… Please forgive me…" He didn't know whose forgiveness he was pleading for. The souls of the people he had killed? His parents? Hiro? _Himself…?_

Was the life of one person worth the the lives of so many countless others?

God, when had the lines blurred so much?

This… this search- This _quest _of his to find his little brother was turning him into a _monster._

The things he was willing to do to save Hiro, the limits he was willing to break, the lines he was willing to cross… It scared him. It scared him a lot.

_But Hiro is everything to him. Hiro is his little brother. His light. _

**_'This love you have for your brother will be your undoing, you know…' _**

Suddenly the voice that was echoing in his head had a face. Tadashi's head jerked up as the nightmarish words suddenly filled his head.

**_Pitch Black! _**

Pitch had told him where Hiro was_! Holy shi- Wait a second…_ was that real? Or was it all in his head? A way for his mind to cope by creating some twisted dream?

No… It _was_ real. Even though it felt like a dream, Tadashi knew… It was no illusion.

He clenched his teeth as he pulled the comforter off of him and scooted to the edge of the bed. He only breathed a sigh of relief when the souls of his feet rested on the carpet below. He would have to mourn for the dead later. He'd deal with his chaotic emotions after he got Hiro back. He'll accept any punishment for his actions once he had his brother by his side; safe and sound.

A clear goal had been set in his mind as determination flooded his system.

"Tadashi…?"

The owner of the name jerked his head up to see his four friends entering the room.

"Guys! Guys! Look! He's finally awake! Woohoo!"

"We were so worried! We thought you'd never wake up."

"Are you okay? How are you feeling? Any you still in pain?"

"How's your head? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"You shouldn't be trying to get up!"

"You're going to tear your stitches, you moron."

As soon as they saw him, they came rushing to his side. Their voices overlapping each other and making Tadashi wince as the pain in his head came back with a vengeance. Argh, he had forgotten how noisy they could be.

"Guys, stop. I think we're making things worse." Honey said as she calmed her friends down. They quieted and silently stared at Tadashi as he squirmed in discomfort under their intense and questioning gazes.

"Uh, hey… guys…" He finally managed to say.

"Hey guys…?" GoGo repeated in utter disbelief. "After everything that's happened, all you have to say to us is _'Hey guys?'_ Are you serious?" She fumed.

"GoGo, calm down. You're not helping." Wasabi said, guiding her away from Tadashi before she decided to sock him one. She was still extremely furious at him after that night. But to everybody's relief. She did; albeit reluctantly.

"Sorry… I… I just…" Tadashi honestly didn't know what to say. What does someone say in this situation? His eyes fixated at the carpet under his feet as though it would swallow him whole. He almost wished it had. Having friends meant having to explain yourself to them…It surely wasn't anything Tadashi was used to doing. He truly was lost on what to do. Thankfully though, Wasabi came to his rescue.

"First things first, how are you feeling, man?"

Tadashi half chuckled at the absurd question. "Like I got hit by a train… and then ran over by a stampede of rhinos."

"I'll bet." GoGo scoffed.

"Where are we…?"

Fred more than happily jumped at the question; spreading his arms wide. "Welcome to Mi casa! That's French for 'My lair.'"

"It's really not…" Honey told him for the fifteenth time since Fred learnt the words. He really should work on his French more. Comic books were ruining him.

Tadashi ignored what Fred said next in his defence as he looked around the room once more. Now that he thought about it, he supposed it wasn't that surprising. In fact, it was rather fitting for a person like Fred to have a room like this… The fanboy had mentioned he was a billionaire after all. It just never occurred to him until now.

"How did you guys find me?" Tadashi asked. He was with Pitch; wherever that was, right? How had his friends found him? Had they gone to SFB? He didn't even want to entertain that thought. He waited for them to answer before jumping into ridiculous conclusions. But he began to get nervous when they didn't immediately answer.

"Well, we found you all banged up in front of Fred's house…"

"What? What do you mean?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

_His little chat with Pitch Black…_ "Uh… the war machine trying to kill me."

"Right. We saw you crash into that cop car but after that…" Wasabi paused. He seemed a little frustrated; not knowing how to continue. He was glad when GoGo took over.

"We're not even sure what happened ourselves. Everything just went black. We couldn't see anything. We couldn't even see each other, it was that dark. It was as if… all the light was sucked out of that one location." GoGo would never admit it to anyone. But the sudden darkness had frightened her a bit.

"By the time things went back to normal, you were just… gone."

"Don't you remember anything at all?" GoGo asked.

"No." At least that part wasn't a lie. But Tadashi was sure Pitch was behind it. He wanted to change the subject before his friends started asking too many questions that he wouldn't be able to answer anyway. But the four teenages had other ideas.

"There was a note beside you when we found you."

"Huh? What note?" Tadashi asked; getting worried again. _What was Pitch up to?_

"The note had coordinates on it." GoGo elaborated. "Said that our payment was due and that the conditions had been met."

"And you guys went along with it?" Tadashi asked; his anger sparking. Mostly towards the Boogeyman but also at his friends. Were they really stupid enough to go to some random location given to them on a cryptic note? Knowing Pitch, he could have been up to anything! For all they knew, it could've been a trap! An ambush waiting for them to be kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder or even get their organs harvested! He could've been up to anything! He's friends really were naïve!

"Well yeah! No one was around when we got there. We were instructed to deposit the cash and leave. And we did." GoGo said as a matter-of-factly.

"As fast as we could." Wasabi added.

"But it was so cool though! We were like the night crusaders on a mission!" Fred said covering the lower half of his face with his imaginary cape like Dracula. "We were like vampires! And spies! Vampire spies! Man, it was so cool!"

Tadashi didn't share Fred's enthusiasm though. He was just glad everything was over and they were okay. They all seemed fine at least. They didn't seem too disturbed by the exchange either. He could only hope they never ran into Pitch ever again. He hoped he'd never have to regret the day he took them to SFB with him.

"So uh… How long have I been here…?" He asked hesitantly; as though he was afraid to know. He was met with silence. The more seconds ticked by, the more anxious he started to feel. "What's wrong?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Okay… so, um, don't freak out." Wasabi said slowly; sneaking a sideways glance at his friends. "But you've been unconscious for about a week and a half…"

"WHAT!?" Tadashi exploded as he shot up like a rocket out of bed and immediately doubled over in pain; clutching his chest. "Argh!"

"Tadashi! Please, you shouldn't move so quickly. Your wounds haven't completely healed yet." Honey cried, helping Tadashi sit back down.

He obliged. But only because he was still in shock from what they had told him._ A week and a half? _That's impossible! It couldn't be…

"The doctor had to keep you under cause you were in so much pain and you kept trashing around. You tore your stitches multiple times. It…It was the only way." Honey sounded apologetic as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

But Tadashi felt no comfort from the gentle touch. He felt enraged. "Why!? I would've been fine! You had no right!" He hissed.

They all backed off at his outburst. All except for GoGo. "_'Why?'_ Why because you were dying! Because we're your friends and we care about you, you nitwit! We risked keeping you here cause we don't want you rotting away in prison for the rest of your life for what you did, no matter how much you deserve to!"

"GoGo-" Wasabi tried. But she didn't seem to stop. All the anger she had bottled up inside her seemed to be erupting out of her.

"You put our Professor in a hospital. He's probably traumatised for life now because of you! Fred risked bringing a doctor here to take care of you. To save your life! We could've all been in trouble for harbouring the country's most wanted criminal in his room. We spent days and nights worrying about you! We came to visit you every damn day! We took care of you till you got better. And you have the audacity to throw it back at our faces?!"

When Tadashi said nothing, she shook her head and crossed her arms; looking away. She felt better after the outburst. She felt a bit calmer but couldn't help utter one last quip under her breath but loud enough for the others to hear. "Guess I can't really expect anything less from a felon… you ungrateful idiot."

"GoGo! That's enough." Honey scolded; looking worriedly over at Tadashi who was being abnormally quite.

"Yeah GoGo! Tadashi isn't a criminal. He's a vigilante!" Fred grinned despite the sour atmosphere. "Right buddy?"

"No…" Tadashi finally spoke in the softest of voices. "GoGo's right. I'm really sorry. I- I shouldn't have yelled like that… I'm just… I feel like we wasted so much precious time."

Time that Hiro might not have.

Time that could have been used to rescue Hiro. His little brother would already be by his side by now if it wasn't for him wasting the days away sleeping!

_No… not sleeping. _

_Recovering. _

"We're sorry too, Tadashi. But you were so badly injured. We didn't have a choice. The doctor said you had a really bad concussion. You woke up but started panicking. You…you almost killed him. We had to sedate you."

Tadashi turned a few shades paler at that. He tried to kill the doctor who was treating him? He didn't remember any of it.

"You drifted in and out of consciousness a few times but you were never coherent enough to talk or understand what was happening. The doctor said you had a couple of bruised ribs too. He said you were lucky none of them were broken. Your shoulder was starting to get infected. He said we were just in time to stop it and that you'd make a full recovery."

They made it sound so simple. "And what about Professor Callaghan?"

"They wouldn't let us visit him. But as far as we know, he's alright… Physically, at least."

"Okay…" Tadashi nodded. He didn't know what else to say. "Is that all…?"

"Oh! You have awesome battle scars now! They're super cool!" Fred said happily; pointing his finger at Tadashi's head.

"Scars?" Tadashi moved his hand and traced it over his left temple. His hair seemed coarse there; like it had been shaved off and he could feel a thin line over his skin. Yup… That was definitely a scar.

So that and the concussion combined is what had given him that massive headache when he had woken up. Good to know.

"Um, now that Tadashi's finally awake… Shouldn't we call the doctor over to check on him?" Wasabi asked the rest of the gang.

"What? No! We don't have time for that!" Tadashi snapped. Before any of them could speak a word, he continued. "Look, I appreciate what you did for me. I really do. But I can't stay here any longer. We gotta get back to work. NOW."

"In the condition you're in? I don't think so."

"I'm fine!"

"You were shot!"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Tadashi-"

"We're wasting time arguing about this! We've wasted enough of time already! Hiro's life is in danger! For all we know, he could be- He could be…"

Tadashi couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.

"Tadashi…" Honey spoke slowly and softly. "You still need to recover."

"I'll recover has we work then."

"But your wounds-"

"Either you help me or stay out of my way. It's your choice, I won't force you. But either way, I'm doing this. I know where Hiro is now. We need to get to work. We need to start preparing."

"Preparing for what? You haven't even told us anything about who these guys are? Or why they took Hiro. What do they want from him? We're not letting you go anywhere until you give us some answers." GoGo said; putting her foot down.

"Yeah, Tadashi. Don't you think after all we've been through, we deserve to know? I mean, we're about to follow you into what's likely to be our inevitable doom. Might as well know what we're getting into here." Wasabi told him with soft eyes and a hint of a smile.

Tadashi eyes travelled from one face to another. He was forced to look away from the genuineness in their eyes. He couldn't find even a hint of hidden malice among them. He doubted he would've.

It was just a little difficult for him to talk about his secrets; especially ones that concern Hiro… After all these years of keeping things locked away inside him, was he about to finally open up to someone?

Was he really going to place his _trust _on someone else other than Hiro?

Then again, why shouldn't he?

After all, they did help him through so much when they could've just as easily turned a blind eye. But no, they stayed by his side. Even when he kept secrets from them, they were there to support him during his darkest hours.

So why shouldn't he trust them?

He pressed his lips into a thin line before giving up and slumping his shoulders with a defeated sigh. "Alright… What do you want to know first?"

"How about you start with who took Hiro." GoGo asked first.

"I don't know who these guys are specifically." Tadashi sighed shakily. "I just know that there are people out there who have been targeting Hiro for as long as I can remember. It's why we've been on the run and never stay in one place for too long."

"But why?" Honey asked. "Why are they targeting Hiro? What do they want from him?"

"Hiro is…" Tadashi paused for a second. He might as well be blunt and get it over with. "… He's a Technopath."

"…"

"A Technopath…?" Wasabi asked skeptically. "As in, he can manipulate electrical stuff with his mind."

"Uh, yes."

Another pregnant pause.

"No. Freaking. Way!" Fred exploded. "How did he get his powers? Was it a genetic mutation? An experimentation gone wrong? IS YOUR BROTHER AN ALIEN?!"

"Uh, no. Hiro was just born with it." Tadashi shrugged.

"So he's a mutant then?" Fred grinned; his face uncomfortably close to Tadashi's, making the latter lean away awkwardly.

"Hiro is not a mutant, Fred." Tadashi deadpanned; pushing the excited teen away. "He's just… very special."

"Man, I would kill for powers like that." Fred said excitedly.

"Yeah… So would a lot of other people." Tadashi muttered darkly.

"So the creepy dude from SFB told you where Hiro is, didn't he?"

Tadashi nodded. "Hiro's somewhere on Akuma Island."

"You mean Alcatraz…? But… hasn't that place been abandoned since forever ago?" Wasabi asked in confusion.

"Supposedly abandoned. No one's got the clearance for that area yet. They'd be trespassing if they go near there. So no one knows." Honey replied.

"If what Pitch told me is true, then it's not abandoned anymore."

"So what do these so called '_mysterious people'_ want from Hiro exactly?" GoGo asked. What do they think they'll get from a Technopathic kid?

"I have no idea…" Tadashi frowned. "God! I should never have left him! I'm so stupid!"

"Stop blaming yourself. If they wanted to take your brother, they would've gotten to him regardless." GoGo told him.

"Besides, you couldn't have stayed with him 24/7."

"That's no excuse." Tadashi scowled. "Hiro's my responsibility. And the one time he needed me most, I wasn't there for him. I let him down in the worst way possible and now he's with dangerous people who are doing god knows what to him. For all I know, Hiro… He… He could be…"

Tadashi gulped; almost at the verge of tears.

"No, Tadashi, he's not." Honey comforted. "You have to have faith."

"Faith isn't going to help me get him back, is it?" Tadashi didn't mean to sound rude but he couldn't help it. He always felt like the world was against them; right from the beginning. Ever since he's parents passed away.

"Stop acting like an idiot." GoGo chided. "They wouldn't go through all that trouble to capture him if they wanted him dead."

"I agree with GoGo, man. You should too. She's usually right about these things." Wasabi smirked.

"Totally! I'm sure the little man's fiiine." Fred added. "They never kill off the Heroes, dude. Unless of course, this is just a story and you're the main protagonist and the writers want character development, then your brother might be- Ow!"

GoGo elbowed Fred in the gut before he could say anything more.

That made Tadashi chuckle a little. "Thanks, guys… If that's all the questions, can we please get back to working on those projects now?"

"Promise to get a check-up first and you have yourself a deal."

Tadashi gave a huge sigh but nodded. They didn't seem to budge on the matter and if it meant moving forward instead of delaying the issue any future he might as well agree to it. "Fine. Let's get it over with then"

Much to Tadashi's delight, the check up and everything that went along with it lasted only a few hours. The doctor had done a pretty good job of patching him up. He had gotten his bandages replaced and his head felt much better after taking some medicines. He felt a lot better since he had woken up. He had insisted that he didn't need any medication that would make him sleepy or drowsy.

The doctor didn't seem too happy with his stubborn patient but reluctantly obliged. Before taking his leave, he had advised Tadashi to get plenty of bed rest…_ yeah, like that's happening._

Meanwhile, his friends had gone over to Aunt Cass's café to bring over some of the machinery they were going to need back to Fred's place along with their own individual projects and blueprints. They even brought back Tadashi's blue book, which he insisted was most important.

Tadashi was already on his feet by the time they came back. He was stretching his tight knotted muscles; trying to relax them without straining himself too much.

Fred bounced into his room first as the others followed behind; one of them was carrying a neatly wrapped brown package.

"Here, this came for you a few days ago. We didn't want to open it till you woke up." Wasabi said; handing over the item to the Hamada.

"What is it?"

"We don't know. It just showed up in front of Fred's door one morning. It had your name on it though."

"Huh." Tadashi inspected the package further before gently unwarping it. Inside he found a note and a blueprint of what seemed to the layout of a building. A huge one from the looks of it. He unfolded the small note and read it out loud.

_"To TH,_

_You have no reason to trust me. But I'll keep this blunt. He doesn't have much time._

_Save Hiro. _

_Hurry. _

_AC"_

_Abigail…_She was helping him? But why…? Couldn't it perhaps be a trap?

Tadashi knew for a fact that Abigail worked for whoever captured his little brother. The blue print must be for the building where Hiro is being held. But the question was; _could he trust her._ For all he knew, these blueprints could be all wrong. Or it could be a sabotage just waiting to happen or a ploy to lure them in.

Would she really be willing to help him if she knew what he had done to her father?

Then again, if these blueprints were in fact real, then they'd have a huge advantage over the enemy. They would know exactly where to strike and the quickest and easiest way to find Hiro and get him out of there.

After sharing his doubts with the others, they all agreed to go with what Abigail had provided them. They also decided to come up with a Plan B in case it turned out to be trick.

"Uh, one last thing before we get started." Honey said; nodding to Fred. "We thought you should have this back."

Fred went to open a drawer beside one of his shelves and emerged with Tadashi's Kitsune mask. He seemed almost reluctant to hand it over to its owner.

Tadashi took the broken item from the fanboy without a word; his face stayed emotionless. The blood was no longer there, but he could still see it, staining its surface; staining the hands that held it.

The left half of the mask was shattered and lost; much like how he had felt after realizing the sins he had committed. His neutral expression changed into one of determination.

"No… I won't be needing it ever again." Tadashi said tossing the mask away. It landed inside a dragon themed trashcan. He hoped he would never have to wear that mask again.

They began to work furiously for the next couple of days. They wasted little to no time coming up with suits and weapons for everyone. With Tadashi's help they were able to take their inventions to the next level and use it for purposes that they never even imagined initially.

Honey; being a genius chemist that she is, worked with said chemicals to fit an entire periodic table along with all its elements into a compact little handbag that hung by her side. Tadashi lent her his knowledge on robotics to help with the design. She had to memorize each element and mentally stabilize equations and their chemical reactions before pushing any buttons. But she got the hang of it pretty fast. She really was extraordinary.

Wasabi was extremely sceptical about incorporating his lasers into gloves. Listing out the safety hazards alone was enough to give him a panic attack. But after hours and hours of extremely careful planning and experimentation, he and Tadashi were able to control the laser and its intensity to the perfect amount. Wasabi was just glad his arms weren't sliced off during the whole process.

GoGo was already exceptional in robotics, but with the combined effort of Tadashi's insight and her skills, she was able to overcome her one and only obstacle; not being _fast_ enough. After they had recrafted the hover wheel technology into her wrists and ankles, she could go faster than any bike or motor cycle could. Not to mention she was ten times more flexible. As an added bonus, she could use those wheels and disks to attack. It truly was remarkable.

Fred; in his opinion, got the coolest looking outfit and amazing powers to boot. He was living the dream, wearing his Fredzilla Armor and blasting away anything in slight with his fire breathing powers. He felt like he could super jump his way to the moon. He was elated to finally be able to call himself a full-fledged superhero. And his team; _Fred's Angles._ Everyone else seemed to oppose the name but he was sure it would eventually grow on them.

Each of them tested out their battle armor and skills in Fred's backyard; which was just as large as his mansion. It was a wide open space and no one had to worry about civilians getting hurt. Fred's butler, Heathcliff helped out too. Bringing them snacks and beverages to keep them going and being their test dummy from time to time.

And finally they were all done.

"Woohoo!"

"I love it!"

"Not bad."

"Is anybody else's suit riding up on them?"

As the four teens marveled at their own suits and inventions, Tadashi came out of the house looking as excited as they'd ever seen him. It was a bit bizarre but not unwelcome. He wore a similar suit to theirs, but it was orange and black themed. It seemed a bit of Kitsune's color scheme had leaked into his design. But instead of the mask, Tadashi wore a bright orange helmet. They didn't mind. It suited him. In addition to that, he also had two handles sticking out from behind his shoulders.

The two flaming swords that Jack had given him were secured firmly behind his back in an 'X' formation so he could pull them out in a fraction of a second when needed.

"Guys, check this out." Tadashi smiled proudly. "Let me introduce you to my robot; Baymax!"

A balloon like robot emerged out of the house; as the teens looked on. Baymax wobbled closer to the gang and stood in front of them and waved a bubbly hand. "Hello, I am Baymax. Your personal healthcare companion."

Tadashi looked proudly from his creation to his friends. "What do you think?"

"Uh, what is it?"

"Baymax is not an 'it.' He's a healthcare robot. Weren't you listening?" Tadashi sounded playfully offended.

"We meant, what does he do?"

"I'm glad you asked." Tadashi perked up. It was somewhat surreal to see him so excited… and happy for once. Like the day they had first met him and took him on the SFIT tour. "Guys, let me reintroduce you to… Baymax 2.0!"

At that, the older Hamada brother pushed a button on his forearm pad and the healthcare robot instantly transformed into a battle-ready version of itself. Red Armor plates fastened Baymax from top to toe and his round bulgy belly squeezed tightly under some blue metallic plates.

"Oh! He's glorious!" Fred gasped.

"Yup. Baymax can not only take care of your medical needs but he can also fight battles now." Tadashi grinned; turning towards his creation. "Alright, show 'em what you got, buddy."

Baymax looked at him in confusion; tilting his head sideways.

"The fist… Show them the fist." Tadashi whispered.

Baymax immediately took on a broad stance and raised a metal arm; taking aim at one of the statues in Fred's backyard. And fired!

Everyone looked as astonished as they felt. Fred jumped with joy; despite the destruction of his property. Eh, no one liked that statue anyway.

"Rocket fist make Freddy so happy!" He clapped.

Tadashi nodded. "And that's just one of the things he's capable of." He turned to his robot again. "Baymax…Wings!"

At that two flat wings popped out from behind Baymax.

"No way…"

"Uh huh." Tadashi said proudly. "Baymax here is the one who's gonna fly us to Alcatraz, undetected."

"I gotta admit, Hamada. That's pretty impressive." GoGo said; nodding her approval. The fact that he came up with all that given what limited time they had, it was admirable.

"Yeah! And he's so adorable too." Honey giggled watching Baymax circle around himself looking at the wings with the curiosity of a child.

"Alright! Then let's go this!" Tadashi said; raising his fist.

"Are you sure you can handle this, man?" Wasabi asked. Sure, they had come up with a pretty solid game plan and it was nearly foolproof after they'd acquired the blueprints of the layout and the building on the island, but still. He couldn't stop himself from worrying. Plus, Tadashi was still injured. "You haven't completely healed up yet."

"I'll rest and heal up once we have Hiro back." The older Hamada replied. "I promise."

Before Wasabi or anyone else could argue, Fred pumped both his clawed fists in the air and yelled.

"Okay! Then Misson: Rescue Tadashi's little brother is officially a GO!"

* * *

PHEW! Finally got that outta the way... Lol, About time, huh? ^^; (Sorry if this chapter has more mistakes... I didn't really have time to beta it fully, I was in such a hurry to get it to you guys. So if you find anything off, anything at all, please feel free to let me know.)

I wanted Tadashi to have an orange suit cause I absolutely love the idea of him being SunFire. OMG! If only Disney would make my dreams come true. Plus purple belongs to Hiro. I didn't want to steal it away from him.

And I'm sorry I didn't give Baymax a better intro. But since you guys already know exactly who Baymax is and what he's capable of, I didn't wanna waste time re-establishing that. But don't worry, Baymax has his own part to play in this story so you'll be seeing more of him too. But just remember that this story revolves around Tadashi and Hiro mainly.

And you'll also find out why I haven't been showing what's happening to Hiro soon too. *MY HAUNTINGLY EVIL LAUGHTER ECHOES AROUND YOU* Stay tuned.

And now! For the best part!

**SHOUT OUTS!**

**Jathagarth:** Omg, I actually laughed out loud at that first line. XD Thank you! Um, I donno, I recently read an ML fanfic called "You don't know me" and was inspired by the action scenes from it. The words just flowed… and I went along with it I guess. I hope I didn't scare you away. (::)(::)(::)  
**BrokenWings2602:** Omgosh, thank you so much for pointing that out. I didn't really know how it worked before that. I read a lot of BH6 fanfics where Tadashi often says Otouto. And I donno, it always sounds so special when he says that. I'll definitely keep in mind about the knowledge you have shared with me, o' wise one. ^^ (::)(::)  
**Guest1: **Thank you! As much as I'd like to say yes. Sadly, no, Ladybug and Chat will not be making an appearance in this story. And you mean Hawkmoth? Naw, this guy is Pitch from Rise of the Guardians. If you haven't watched that movie yet, I highly recommend you do. (::)  
**Russia says hello:** I guess it did…? Well, by the time you read this it would have for sure. XD I'm sorry about the delay in updates. (::)  
**Narniac4aslan:** YAY! CONFETTE! IT'S A PARADE! (Kudos to you if you get that reference) And thank you so much! I made this chapter extra-long to make up for the looooong wait. Hope you liked it! (::)(::)  
**Rosycat:** Lol, you should never say that to me or it might just take me years to update. XD I'm nothing without pressure to keep me going. I have a bad habit of letting things go if I don't have some sort of a deadline (as loose as it may be). And thank you for understanding! Oh, sweetie, you have no idea. The Climax is…. (*sniggers* If only you knew, my friend) Um, never mind, I shouldn't say anything cause I'm not sure if I'll accidently let something slip or not. :-P (::)  
**CarishTale:** OMG! I'm so so sorry for making you wait this long. I was trying to concentrate on my other fanfic and this chapter was particularly hard for me to write cause I had to get so many things out of the way so it would make more sense. (So I kinda put in on the back burner) I used to write a little bit here and there but then it would seem so disjointed and ugh! I didn't wanna ruin it by rushing it. I deeply apologize! I know the feeling of having to wait for an author to update! It sucks! I can't promise you regular updates though! But I swear to you I'll try my best! AND YES! OMG! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! BAE WILL FOREVER BE REAL! NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE! As for your question… I think this chapter answered that. Tadashi is desperate of course but he feels that at least he can trust his friends and Baymax. Pitch might help him but he'll never trust him with his life. Pitch is just too sneaky and conniving. Lol, don't apologize, I get it XD (::)  
**Guest2:** I hope this one was as well? (::)  
**JEM48893:** Really? Awwwww! Thank you! If you want I could suggest some awesome BH6 fanfics. There are some pretty amazing ones out there! Here's the update! I hope you liked it! (::)  
**Starlight420:** HEY! Welcome back! XD I'm really glad I still have you! And as I am Satan, I have decided to forgive you. Plus I think the wait was punishment enough. And awwwww! Thank you! And whatchu talkin' bout? I will always appreciate your review and wishes. Each one is very special to me! And lol, that's hilarious. Can I call you by your nickname as well? And nooooo… My most dreaded enemy… Tenses. Why do I suck at them so much? I do. Not. Understand. *bangs my head on the table repeatedly* Anyways, moving on, I like villains too! (*fangirls Loki* cause I both wanna hug him as well as throw him off a cliff) Yup, your right. And they do of course. They have eyes everywhere. ^^ What can I say? I love watching you guys squirm. It's basically what I live for. Hmm….who knows indeed… I guess this chapter must have answered that for you. Aww! Your so welcome! Reading your reviews gives me the same feeling! Especially from the people who review regularly. It makes me feel like we're connected! And it makes me so happy and brightens up my day too! Hope all your tests (Especially French and World History) went reeeeeaallly well. (::)(::)(::)  
**OneWhoDreamz:** Lol, I just realized I'm replying to reviews from Sep last year. Omg… Has it really been that long? God, I'm so sorry. (I have a feeling your gonna scold me for that one) And lol, I secretly keep hoping you lose control every time. XD Aww, poor Abi. C'mon Dreamer. She's trying. Her father was in danger of dying… Family comes first, remember? Isn't that what Tadashi is basically doing? Hiro means more to him than anyone else. Tadashi will do anything to keep his brother safe and out of harm's way. Abi was doing the same for her father (Probably all that's left of her family as well) So when you think about it, both Tadashi and Abigail are caught on the same exact sinking boat. (Lol, I enjoy how you respond FOR me in your reviews XD You say the exact same words that I feel compelled to say!) As for Mr. Creepy man. I feel you man. I totally understand your frustration over him *pretends I don't laugh like a maniac as I write him* What? *cough cough* Who said that? Wasn't me! I'm innocent I swear! *cough* Not really *cough hack* XD And about your theory on Pitch… Well, as the author I'm obligated to NOT give away any of her secrets. Not yet anyway. So we'll have to wait to find out, wont we? And as for your other theory… You have no clue the true evil intentions of Mr. Creepy dude. Oh god, your gonna murder me when you finally find out. And thank you so much! I will try my best to not let you down and to make this a story you'll never forget! (At least one that will stay with you for a long while. I hope *fingers crossed*) And HEY! More fire puns! XD You're going to _blow_ me away if you keep this up. *wink wink* (Ok, I'll admit that was a bad one. But you're the pun master, not me!) Anways, I hope you liked this chapter as well. Now that the gang knows everything they need to know in order to help Tadashi I can finally move on with the story at a faster pace. (::)(::)(::)  
**Guest3:** Hmm… Not for a while I'm afraid. We've still got a few more chapters to go before that day arrives. (I donno if that counts as a spoiler or not…) (::)  
**someonethe3rd:** Well, I made this chapter extra-long! I think it might be the longest. Had to get a lot of things out there before the big boss battle starts. We can't have carnage all the time, right? Thank you so much for the nice words! It made me feel so happy! (::)  
**BlackCatXlll:** That was me when actually watching the movie! XD Also, p.s: I LOVE YOUR USERNAME! GO TRAIN! I LOVE YOU! (::)  
**Nekohime1:** Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this one as well! Next time, we'll see the actual fight and what this story has been building up to. (::)  
**MagicCatMC:** More is on the way, my friend. Just hang in there. I'm sorry Chapter 20 took so long. It was the hardest chapter I had to write so far. (::)  
**Rangergirl3:** Haha. Holy god, you binge read it all? I'm not sure even I can do that. XD But it makes me so happy that you spent all that time reading my story. Thank you! Also, yes, the Guardians (mostly just Jack and Tooth and Pitch) but still. *takes a bow*XD (::)  
**Justrockzyxxx:** Hmm… I have plans for each one of them. Don't worry. Everyone has their part to play. *wink wink* That's all I'm gonna tell you for now though. Cant risk giving away too much. (::)

Aaaaannnnd. That's it from me for now.

Please leave me a **review** cause **YOUR SUFFERING FUELS ME TO WRITE MORE!**

Until next time!  
Take care!  
Byeeee!  
*Fist bump*  
Ba-la-la-la-laa!


End file.
